Manchester United and Leeds United will play a pre-season match at a sold-out Croke Park in Dublin, marking the first time two English clubs have played at the stadium. The fixture is significant because Croke Park has long been associated with Irish nationalism and Gaelic games, making the event a notable example of its evolving role.

The 82,300-capacity venue has not hosted association football since 2009 and had never done so before 2007. Its historic restrictions on “foreign” sports were eased while Dublin’s Lansdowne Road was redeveloped, allowing football and rugby matches temporarily before case-by-case access became permanent in 2010; England’s rugby team played there in the 2007 Six Nations.