The new Yankee Stadium will continue a tradition from the original stadium when it hosts its first soccer match July 22, 2012, as the Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League is set to face off against Paris Saint-Germain of France’s Ligue 1.
The original Yankee Stadium hosted its first soccer game June 28, 1931, when the Glasgow Celtic faced off against the New York Yankees soccer club. Yankee Stadium has hosted some notable matchups — in 1966, Pelé, the “King of Football,” as a part of Santos (Brazil) beat Inter Milan 4-1 and in 1968 he returned with Santos and battled Eusebio and Benfica (Portugal) to a 3-3 final.
Chelsea defeated Liverpool on Saturday, May 5, 2012, to secure the FA Cup for the third time in four years. After beating the defending champions Barcelona Chelsea, “The Blues,” earned the right to play in the UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich on May 19 at the Allianz Arena, where they hope to come out with their first European championship. Chelsea has finished either first or second in England’s Premiere League in seven of the last eight seasons. Led by Captain John Terry and interim manager Robert Di Matteo Chelsea is looking to win their fifth domestic league title.
Paris Saint-Germain will be participating in what will mark the first time a French football club will be playing at Yankee Stadium. Paris Saint-Germain’s accomplishments include being eight-time winners of the French Cup as well as two-time winners of France’s Champions Trophy. With only two games left PSG currently sits in second place in France’s Ligue 1 division with 73 points, 3 points behind Montpellier.
The exhibition matchup between Chelsea FC and PSG is a part of the World Football Challenge, a partnership between Major League Soccer and Creative Artists Agency that will bring popular European clubs to North America during July and August. Other notable friendly matchups include Chelsea FC vs. AC Milan in Miami July 28, and Real Madrid vs. Juventus in Las Vegas August 5. To view the full schedule and follow announcements for the World Football Challenge 2012 you can visit the official site www.mlssoccer.com/wfc.
In a statement on MLSSoccer.com, Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said “Chelsea Football Club is delighted to be heading to New York after such a long time away, and it will be a real pleasure to visit Yankee Stadium for what is sure to be a competitive game.”
This is a once in a lifetime event for American fans to witness the world’s greatest international soccer athletes from England and France compete. According to Yankees.com, the Yankee Stadium box office will officially begin ticket sales for Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea FC on May 16.
