The match will take play on Saturday, July 22, and is the second straight year the club welcomes an English opponent

Photo credit: Swansea City

North Carolina FC announced today that they will face Swansea City A.F.C. of the Barclays Premier League, England’s top tier of soccer, in a marquee exhibition game on Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 pm at Sahlen’s Stadium.

“We are thrilled to provide another marquee game for our fans,” North Carolina FC President and General Manager Curt Johnson said. “This is an exciting opportunity for us to showcase the passion for professional soccer in the Triangle to the world. Swansea boasts an extremely talented roster and fans are encouraged to get their tickets early to not miss this exciting event.”

Swansea City, formerly known as Swansea Town, is a Welsh professional football club based in the city of Swansea, South Wales. The club was founded in 1912 and joined the football league in 1921. After playing for many years in lower divisions, in 2011 the club became the first Welsh team to play in the English Premier League since the league’s formation in 1992. Swansea celebrated its greatest success thus far by winning the Capital One Cup in 2013.

The Swans are helmed by Paul Clement and captained by long-time standout midfielder, Leon Britton. The current roster boasts several players of international recognition, including 2010 FIFA World Cup champion Fernando Llorente, Ecuador international Jefferson Montero, and Iceland international Gylfi Sigurðsson, who impressed fans all over the world during the 2016 UEFA European Championship. As part of its U.S. tour, Swansea will also play against Philadelphia Union on Saturday, July 15 and the Richmond Kickers on Wednesday, July 19.

“You look back at last year and how successful our West Ham game was, I think that the interest in this game will be fantastic,” North Carolina FC coach Colin Clarke said. “Swansea is a team with deep history producing some great players throughout the years. We look forward to the game and pitting our team against world-class competition. This game shows that our club does things the right way offering top-class facilities to train and competitive games.”



The English Premier League is the most popular league in the world, and this match will be a remarkable event for the Triangle. Broadcast in over 200 countries, the EPL boasts one of the largest fan bases on the planet. Having this event at Sahlens Stadium continues a North Carolina FC tradition of hosting high-profile teams from all over the world.