Mayo and Kerry eye €400,000 each from London challenge match

Tickets for the game, which is not expected to be a 15-a-side affair, are set to go on sale next week. Both counties are expected to send strong squads

Mayo and Kerry face off in an exhibition match at StoneX Stadium in London on November 28. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

November’s high-profile challenge match between All-Ireland SFC finalists Kerry and Mayo in London could generate as much as £1 million (€1.16m).

Both counties are in line to reap close to €400,000 from the "Mayo Kerry Global Series" game in Saracens’ StoneX Stadium in Hendon on Saturday, November 28.

Tickets for the game, which received clearance from the GAA’s Central Council earlier this month and are also set to incorporate a charity element, are set to go on sale early next week. Admission prices range from £40 for standing and seated options available at £50, £60 and £75.

The match on the artificial 4G pitch is not expected to be a 15-a-side affair owing to the smaller playing surface, which is approximately 120 metres long and 70m wide compared to the minimum GAA pitch size of 130m x 80m.

Coming just eight days after the official return of collective inter-county training ahead of the 2027 season, unlimited substitutes may also be permitted.

Both counties are expected to send strong representations for the game although the Clifford brothers, David and Paudie, might be unavailable if their club Fossa qualify for the following weekend’s Munster Club IFC final. Other provincial club commitments could rule out more players – the Connacht IFC decider is also scheduled for November 28 and the senior final is due to take place the following day.

Specially commissioned jerseys, which will be worn by the players, will also be available to purchase along with regular Kerry and Mayo merchandise at the venue.

Around 8,000 tickets are to be made available to the public next week with the remainder retained for VIPs, sponsors and other corporate entities.

The regular capacity for the grounds is 10,500 but organisers are hoping that it can be increased to reflect the anticipated high demand on the back of Mayo’s first All-Ireland win in 75 years and their and Kerry’s strong presence in London. The stadium can be expanded to cater for larger fixtures.

UK-based construction company JRL Group, which was founded by Mayo native John Reddington, are the chief backers of the event. As many as 10 sponsors will attach their name to the match.

It is understood the game will have a late afternoon throw-in. It will be preceded by a Mayo v Kerry legends exhibition match. Cavan folk band The High Stool Prophets will be providing entertainment following the game and bars will be open late into the evening.

Earlier this month, Central Council delegates were asked to vote on the joint Mayo-Kerry proposal to stage the game. As no challenge games are permitted in November, it required the approval of Ard Chomhairle and as the date falls so close to the end of the month it was endorsed by delegates in an email vote.

“The Mayo-Kerry Global Series is about bringing two of Gaelic football’s most passionate communities together for a very special occasion in London,” reads the blurb on the game’s website. “We’re looking forward to creating a memorable day for supporters, families and the wider Irish community, both on and off the pitch.” 

It is set to be the largest-attended GAA game in the UK since the inter-county games in nearby Wembley that concluded in the mid-1970s. At their peak in the early 1960s, “Wembley at Whit” in May attracted over 40,000 people.

The double-headers occasionally involved the finalists from the previous year including the 1974 Cork-Galway football and Kilkenny-Limerick hurling matches.

Ruislip’s McGovern Park, the home of London GAA which hosts their annual Connacht SFC quarter-final against one of the province’s indigenous counties, has a capacity of 3,000.