IRELAND fans could be hitting the sun-kissed Algarve in September for Ireland’s World Cup qualifying clash with Portugal.
Stephen Kenny has been in charge of the Boys in Green for 11 matches but has yet to lead the team out in front of any supporters.
But Portugal announced today that the September 1 game will take place on the Algarve rather than Lisbon.
The match will be played at the Estádio Algarve in Faro, where Ireland beat Gibraltar in 2015 en route to the Euro 2016 finals.
Portugal’s autumn games have been moved to the Algarve in an attempt to help the region after tourism was decimated by the Covid pandemic.
This week, Portugal started re-admitting tourists from most EU countries following months of restrictions.
EU travellers from countries with coronavirus rates below 500 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period can enter the country.
Those visitors must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken up to 72 hours before they fly.
The Algarve is hugely popular with Irish tourists and it is hoped the international travel landscape will have improved considerably by the end of the summer.
And if that transpires, some Ireland fans could yet attend the World Cup qualifier where a stadium capacity limit is likely to apply.
Reinaldo Teixeira, president of the Algarve Football Association, said: “Ireland have strong ties to the Algarve region. There could be no better stage for these games.”
And Rogério Bacalhau, the mayor of Faro, said: “We really want to go back to the life we had and these games give us hope.”
