The Richmond Kickers will host English Premier League team Crystal Palace on Monday, July 28th at 7:00 PM. This will be the first time a team from England has ever played in Virginia, and some regard the English Premier League as the best soccer league in the world–so this is definitely a memorable occasion for RVA soccer fans.
The Richmond Kickers will host English Premier League team Crystal Palace on Monday, July 28th at 7:00 PM. This will be the first time a team from England has ever played in Virginia, and some regard the English Premier League as the best soccer league in the world–so this is definitely a memorable occasion for RVA soccer fans.
Crystal Palace has played spoiler to some of the best teams in the league this year. They beat Chelsea 1-0, played Liverpool to a 3-3 draw. In Liverpool’s case, this game eliminated their chances at winning the league title, while Chelsea’s loss was a significant setback. Richmond has never hosted a top tier European team, and now the Kickers will be battling the London-based club this Monday night.
“We are delighted to host Crystal Palace, who recently completed a memorable Premier League campaign,” said Leigh Cowlishaw, Richmond Kickers Director of Soccer. “We anticipate a sell-out night on July 28, and we invite the Richmond community to join us in celebrating the beautiful game with their hometown team.”
This game is part of a 9 day U.S. Season tour for Crystal Palace, who also play the Columbus Crew this evening and Philadelphia Union on July 25. Crystal Palace have been verifying their American popularity after their home game against Sunderland last August had almost 900,000 viewers in America watching the 3-1 win, according to NBC Sports’ viewing figures from last year.
Richmond ranks sixth in the Top 10 U.S. Premier League viewership markets. Besides ecstatic RVA fans, a large group of Crystal Palace supporters from England are actually flying to Richmond to support their team. Richmond will get an up close and personal look at how passionate fans from England really are about their team, but I’m sure the Red Army can give them a run for their money.
Tickets are still available at $30, $25 for Red Army fans, and can be purchased through richmondkickers.com. The door opens at 5:30 PM, for a 7:00 PM start time.
