TWO AMERICAN COLLEGE Football teams from Florida and Georgia are going head to head in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

It is the third year that the Aer Lingus College Football Classic has brought the game to Dublin, which this time around will see Georgia Tech and Florida State University take the field.

Thousands of Americans are visiting Dublin to attend the game.

Meanwhile, it has received a mixed reception from locals; some will head along to the game or take part in the affiliated events around Dublin, others are against the significant use of space and resources for an American game rather than one that is played in Ireland on a regular basis, and there are plenty who didn’t even know it was happening.

Kick-off time is at 5pm in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Many of the surrounding streets will be subject to road closures and diversions from 2pm (Bath Avenue, Londonbridge Road, part of Landsdowne Road, and Landsdowne Park) and 4.30pm (Shelbourne Road, all of Landsdowne Road, Ballsbridge Avenue, Beatty’s Avenue, Herbert Road and Newbridge Avenue).

Earlier in the day, the College Green area will be the site of celebrations during a pre-game programme on ESPN called College Gameday, which will be broadcast live from 2pm to 5pm.

Dublin City Council says that this is the first time the show has been broadcast outside the US. ESPN College Gameday last year reached an average vieweship of 2 million viewers an episode. 

As a result, Dame Street is closing to vehicle traffic from 8pm this evening until 6am on Sunday. Foster Place has been closed from 3pm on Wednesday and will also re-open to traffic from 6am on Sunday.

Bus services in the Temple Bar area on the Quays and Westmoreland Street will continue to operate, as will the Luas Green Line.

“Any temporary relocation of bus stops from Dame Street to other locations will be publicised via the National Transport Authority website. The Taxi Ranks from Foster Place and College Green will be moved temporarily to D’Olier Street,” Dublin City Council said in a statement.

The event on College Green is non-ticketed and open to the public.

Padraic O’Kane, Director and Co-Founder of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, has said that around 25,000 Americans are expected to visit Dublin for the event and attendance at the sold-out game will be around 47,500. 

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland, O’Kane said that college football is a “multi-billion dollar game” and that there will be a television audience of around four million people watching the game.

“It’s not just the 25,000 people that are in town with a huge economic benefit in Ireland – we’re also on mainstream TV for nine hours in the United States on Saturday and that can’t be bad for Ireland,” he said.

He said organisers are looking to cement the game as an annual event in Ireland for many years to come.

“The sport of American football is hugely growing here, both in participation and viewing,” O’Kane said.