In a release sent out this morning, the Philadelphia Union announced that they will be playing a friendly against Scottish Premier League club Celtic F.C. on July 14th in Chester.
This match will take the place of the previously announced match against Spanish club Valencia C.F., which backed out of the agreement that had been in place. There had been talk of both clubs paying the Union, but Celtic is the only one scheduled as of right now.
This game will be “Game A” for those of you with season tickets. Game B has yet to be announced. Individual tickets to this match will be announced later this month.
Getting a game against Celtic is huge for the Union. They are a club with a huge following, not just in their home country, but around the world. This will bring a lot of exposure to the Union and will make the tickets to this match very hard to get. If the Union can attract big name clubs like this to play in friendlies every season, it will only help the team to get better and expand the Union’s following.
While these games obviously don’t count in the MLS standings, they are still a great experience for everyone involved. Hopefully the U can be competitive, keep all 11 on the field for the full 90 minutes, and put on a good show.
