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Navy and Notre Dame helmets in the Aviva, when the fixture was announced in 2018. Billy Stickland/INPHO

College football organisers say they will wait until June for decision on Dublin fixture

Organisers of the Aer Lingus Classic, set for August, say the game does not need a license and so is not subject to the government’s 5,000-person limit on gatherings.

THE SCHEDULED AMERICAN football fixture between Notre Dame and Navy at the Aviva Stadium in August has still not been cancelled amid Covid-19 restrictions.

This month, the government moved to ban licenses for all gatherings of 5,000 people or more until September. But organisers of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic say their event, which brought 35,000 visitors from the US in 2012, does not require a licence.

Instead, in a statement issued this afternoon, organisers say they are ‘working closely with their Irish and American partners, including the Irish government, the US Naval Academy, the University of Notre Dame and the governing body of collegiate sport to monitor the situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The recent Irish government announcement on ‘licences for gatherings over 5,000’ does not apply to this fixture as the game does not require a licence.”

That said, the statement adds that they will liaise with the two universities and the college sport governing body, NCAA, to present a decision on what impact a global pandemic will have on the fixture by mid-June.

“At that time, the event organisers will in turn be in a position to update on the specifics of the Navy vs. Notre Dame scheduled for 29 August 2020 at the Aviva Stadium.”

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    Mute Colm Connolly
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    Apr 29th 2020, 3:10 PM

    This is simply a way of holding onto the money for a few more months until the interest payment covers the losses
    No way this will go ahead especially considering the over 35,000 that have tickets for the game living in the usa

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    Mute Dave Harris
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    Apr 29th 2020, 5:05 PM

    @Colm Connolly: you dont know much about interest rates do ya?!

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    Mute Breanainn Buggy
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    Apr 29th 2020, 5:32 PM

    @Colm Connolly: can I invest my money at your interest rates?

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    Mute Colm Connolly
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    Apr 29th 2020, 6:06 PM

    @Dave Harris: all the tickets sold so far are outside of the country in package deals starting at a few thousand dollars , there is nearly 70,000,000 in sales for these packages , it’s also to wait for the government to shut it down so insurance will cover any losses also

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    Mute Keelan O'neill
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    Apr 29th 2020, 2:55 PM

    It’ll end up “null and void” as Robb Stark would say

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    Mute Robb Stark
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    Apr 29th 2020, 3:39 PM

    @Keelan O’neill: hopefully mate, if it means saving lives.

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    Apr 29th 2020, 3:44 PM

    @Robb Stark: except when it’s Leinster rugby when they could play a one off game

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    Mute JJ Ryan
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    Apr 29th 2020, 10:25 PM

    Where are they going to stay if all the hotels are still closed?. Cancel it now. 35,000 is bigger than 5,000 the last time I checked.

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