LIVERPOOL, Leeds United, Newcastle United and Celtic top the bill for Irish soccer fans in yet another all too cluttered list of pre-season matches.
Cork City get the new season rolling on Saturday week (June 28th) when they begin their InterToto Cup challenge with a game against Belgian side Standard Liege at Turner's Cross.
They then visit Maccabi Petah-Tickva of Israel the following weekend before returning for their glamour game with German side FC Cologne on Saturday, July 12th. Cork complete their programme with a game away to Swiss club FC Aarau on July 19th.
The Dublin soccer public's appetite for the new season will have been whetted earlier that week with the Irish International Club Tournament at Lansdowne Road involving Celtic, Newcastle United, PSV Eindhoven and National League Champions Derry City.
The tournament, which will be televised live by Sky TV, will be played over the evenings of the July 15th and 16th with double-headers on each night kicking off at 6 p.m. and 8.15 p.m.
Leeds and Liverpool are the big attractions in the list of friendlies. They will be at Tolka Park on July 26th and 28th to play Shelbourne and a Shelbourne/UCD selection
By that time the main European club competitions will have kicked off with the first qualifying round first and second legs of both the Champions' League (involving Derry City) and the UEFA Cup (Bohemians) set for July 23rd and 30th.
Shelbourne will play in the qualifying phase of the Cup Winners' Cup, though their games are not until August 14th and 28th. The draw for these competitions takes place in Geneva on July 9th.
