Since May, all tickets have been sold out. For the highly anticipated “Week Zero” opening game of the 2023 College Football season, more than 40,000 supporters from across the world are expected to flock to the Emerald Isle. The great majority of these fans will be arriving directly from the US.

The event “will see the largest movement of Americans into Europe in peacetime,” according to organisers.

This week, Ireland will be awash in the blue and gold colours, but there will also be plenty of green in Irish companies' bank accounts, as the event is estimated to have contributed more than €147 million to the Irish economy.

Around 150 hotels have already reached capacity, and popular Irish tourist locations like the Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry, and the Wild Atlantic Way will also benefit. Pubs and gift stores will also profit from the momentous occasion.

The unexpected windfall will be very appreciated following a soggy summer that ruined many vacations.

After being postponed due to the pandemic, the Notre Dame-Navy game is now being played three years after it was initially scheduled. Both in 1996 and 2012, the two American rivals faced off in Dublin. For the first time ever, Notre Dame will be the designated home team.

42,699 people saw Nebraska play Northwestern in Dublin last year for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, including 15,000 Americans who travelled there and another 3,000 visitors from other places.

Although the matchup this year is expected to be one-sided (Notre Dame won 50-10 in 2012), it is a significant opportunity for the Irish diaspora to demonstrate their ancestry and sense of pride to the Irish people.

The Aviva Stadium this Saturday will not just be a celebration of sport but also a celebration of the great history Ireland and the United States of America has always had between each other.