Dartford FC to host another Premier League International Cup Game!
Dartford Football Club are delighted to announce that we have been selected to host yet another Premier League International Cup fixture on Wednesday 21st January, Celtic v Villarreal, kick off 7.00pm
Tickets can be purchased on the gate and are priced at £3 for adults and £1 for children.
The Premier League launched the ‘Premier League International Cup’ in October 2014 – a four-group tournament involving some of the top Premier League U21 teams from England as well as a selection of elite development teams from Europe.
This tournament involves:
-Eight Premier League U21 teams; West Ham, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Leicester City, Manchester City, Norwich City and Sunderland. All eight clubs have category one youth academies.
-Eight international teams; Athletic Club Bilbao, Benfica, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic, Schalke, Porto, PSV Eindhoven and Villarreal.
Clubs play each team in their group once and all matches, including those between international teams, are being played in England. Upon completion of the group stage the winners and runners-up from each group progress to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, all to be played as single-leg ties in England.
Premier League Director of Youth, Ged Roddy, said: “When we launched the Elite Player Performance Plan in 2012 we recognised that providing competitive opportunities for the 18-21 age group – against English and international opposition – was a key objective in order to prepare Academy players for Barclays Premier League football. The Premier League International Cup will see some of the best young players in this country able to test themselves in competitive matches against some of most talented young players in Europe.”
Games Programme Competitions Manager, Rachel Ely, said: “Princes Park hosted Benfica v Schalke in October with great success. The stadium is held in high regard by both players and staff, with a great pitch, quality facilities, easy accessibility and friendly staff. It was a favourable choice to host the highly anticipated match between Celtic and Villarreal”.
General Manager of Dartford Football Club, Nicola Collett, expressed: “This is another excellent opportunity for our local stadium to show case some of the best International Player Development Football and for our local community to come along and see some incredible talent”.