The Aer Lingus College Football Classic (ALCFC) is a proven and successful public-private partnership, which sees the first game of the US College Football Season being played in Ireland. As Rights Holder, the ALCFC leads the production and promotion of the game as well as all associated events in conjunction with partners and key stakeholders.
The ALCFC series kicked off with games in 2022 and 2023. More recently, Georgia Tech played Florida State in 2024, and Kansas State University played Iowa State University in 2025. The games played in 2024 and 2025 will be covered in this submission.
Highlights include:
- Over 55,000 international visitors
- 48,819 US visitors, staying on the island of Ireland for an average of 7 nights.
- Economic impact worth €277m – Grant Thornton’s post-game independent reports.
- Domestic in stadium audience of 40,199.
- Over 9.8 million watched the games in the US on ESPN
- Social media views reached +54 million.
The #MuchMoreThanAGame programme hosted 45+ tourism, business, academic, and community events each year.
The ALCFC offers flexible sponsorship models, ranging from title partner Aer Lingus to host partners like Failte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, and Dublin City Council. It also features a strong list of official category and supporting partners, enabling a variety of brand engagement opportunities for partners to reach their sponsorship goals. The ALCFC series continues to cement Ireland’s reputation as a global stage for major international sport and cultural exchange.
