Minnesota United announced today that the club will host St. Patrick’s Athletic Football Club for an international friendly at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m. CT.
March’s international friendly against St. Patrick’s Athletic marks the 13th international friendly contest that MNUFC has hosted. The Loons most recently hosted FC Kaiserslautern in the summer of 2023.
Minnesota United Season Ticket Members will have the St. Patrick’s Athletic friendly match included in their 18-game package, and all season tickets, including the international friendly, will be released to manage (send/sell) after the single game presales in February.
“We are excited to welcome the historic St. Patrick’s Athletic FC to the Twin Cities and introduce them to our incredible Minnesota soccer community,” said MNUFC CEO Shari Ballard. “Throughout our history we have sought to introduce our fans to unique soccer clubs from around the world with rich and diverse histories. We are pleased to partner with another storied club in St. Patrick’s Athletic to bring an exciting and unique experience to Allianz Field for our fans to enjoy. We look forward to this exciting matchup with the 2023 FAI Cup Winners.”
St Patrick’s Athletic General Manager Anthony Delaney welcomed today’s announcement, "It is a great and unique opportunity for St Patrick’s Athletic to test our squad against Minnesota United. Major League Soccer has shown rapid growth in the last number of years so it will be exciting to play a team from this league. We were introduced to our colleagues in Minnesota United by friends of the Club and once we found an available date that suited both teams, it was an easy fixture to set. There is a big Irish/American community in this area and the fact that we will be in the Twin Cities for St Patrick’s Day and the fixture will take place around this time will no doubt add to the occasion.”
St. Patrick’s Athletic FC, nicknamed the Saints, was founded 1929 in the Inchicore neighborhood of Dublin, Ireland. Richmond Park has been the Saints’ home ground for 85 years after the team moved from its original stadium 10 years following its founding. With its longstanding presence in Irish soccer comes its rich history of success. St. Patrick’s Athletic – currently competing in the Irish topflight since 1951 – notably holds the record for never having been relegated from the top division of the nation, which is currently named the League of Ireland Premier Division.
Donning the primary colors of the crest in red, white and gold, the Saints boast 18 major trophies won across Ireland, including the League of Ireland Premier Division (9), FAI Cup (5) and the League of Ireland Cup (4). St. Patrick’s Athletic most recently won the 2023 FAI Cup over league rival Bohemian FC. The Saint’s league success has paved the way for the squad to compete in European competitions, playing a combined 62 games, to-date, across the variations of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and other European continental tournaments since 1961.
Listed below are the results from international friendlies the Minnesota United has hosted:
- MNUFC 1(4)-1(3) in PKs over Mexico U21, July 4, 2014
- MNUFC 2-0 Swansea City AFC, July 19, 2014
- MNUFC 1-1 Club Leon, July 18, 2015
- MNUFC 2-4 Club Leon, June 25, 2016
- MNUFC 0-4 AFC Bournemouth, July 20, 2016
- MNUFC 1-1 Atlas FC, July 15, 2017
- MNUFC 1-2 Saprissa, July 11, 2018
- MNUFC 0-1 Hertha Berlin, May 22, 2019
- MNUFC 0-3 Aston Villa, July 17, 2019
- MNUFC 2-2 CF Pachuca, Sept. 7, 2019
- MNUFC 4-3 SC Paderborn 07, June 11, 2022
- MNUFC 4-0 Everton FC, July 20, 2022
- MNUFC 2-1 FC Kaiserslautern, June 28, 2023
Single-game tickets for the first half of the 2024 season, including the St. Patrick’s Athletic friendly, will go on sale to the general public on February, with Season Ticket Members, members of The Preserve, and other club insiders receiving first access through a series of exclusive presales.
The international friendly against St. Patrick’s Athletic will be available and a part of the Premium (https://www.mnufc.com/tickets/premium/premium_selection) and Group (https://www.mnufc.com/tickets/groups/interest) selection processes, and fans still have time to get their corporate, alumni, or friends and family outing set up this season at Allianz Field.
