British Clubs Wrexham AFC and AFC Bournemouth Will Clash at Harder Stadium

Professional soccer will be featured at Harder Stadium this summer as Wrexham AFC will face Premier League side AFC Bournemouth in an all-British showdown on July 20 at Harder Stadium on the campus of UC Santa Barbara  

The Red Dragons and The Cherries will face off against one another for the first time since April of 2005, when both teams were in EFL League One.This match is the first of Wrexham AFC’s three North American matches this summer as part of their 2024 Wrex Coast Tour. This will be followed by the match with Chelsea FC on July 24 at Levi’s Stadium, in Santa Clara, and by a clash in Vancouver against Whitecaps FC following on July 27, at BC Place.

Tickets will be on sale through AXS. An exclusive Presale for Santa Barbara community groups opens Thursday April 25, at 8:00am PT followed by Team Presales starting at 10:00am PT. General Public Tickets go on sale at 12:00pm PT.

Harder Stadium is home to the UC Santa Barbara Men’s and Women’s soccer teams. This legendary 17,000-seat stadium has been home to multiple NCAA Division I College Cups and other professional training and matches associated with the U.S. Women’s National Team, the MLS and La Liga MX.

“To be part of the Wrex Coast Tour, and host Wrexham AFC and AFC Bournemouth here in Santa Barbara is hugely exciting,” said Director of Athletics Kelly Barsky. “The partnership is a special one as part of our mission in athletics is to serve and connect a deeply engaged community. To bring high caliber soccer to Harder Stadium, long referred to as Soccer Heaven, on our UC Santa Barbara campus with teams that share a focus on serving the community is truly exceptional.”

Wrexham AFC have has been on the upswing since actor and entrepreneurs RobMcElhenney and Ryan Reynolds purchased the club in 2020. The club has been featured in the popular Emmy award-winning Welcome to Wrexham docu-series on FX. Founded in 1864, Wrexham is the oldest professional soccer club in Wales, and the third oldest in the world.

Wrexham have recently risen back up through the divisions and have just confirmed a second-successive promotion, which elevates them back to League One (the third tier of English football) next season. The club relishes the opportunity to build upon its extensive American fanbase

“This is a hugely exciting announcement for our club, as we add another Premier League club to our Wrex Coast Tour in North America,” said Wrexham Executive Director Humphrey Ker in a press release. “Andoni Iraola has quickly established AFC Bournemouth as one of the most exciting young teams in the Premier League, and we can’t wait to test ourselves against them. Our support inCalifornia is fantastic and we’re excited to be heading to beautiful Santa Barbara, and looking forward to seeing many of our fans at this game.”

AFC Bournemouth have become a mainstay in the Premier League over the last decade, since their first ever promotion to England’s top tier in 2015. Following their takeover by Bill Foley in December 2022, and under the stewardship of first-year Spanish head coach Andoni Iraola, the Cherries have earned plaudits from pundits across the globe for their entertaining style of play and recent success that includes a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford over Manchester United last December.

Young superstars like Dominic Solanke,Justin Kluivert and US Men’s National Team captain Tyler Adams will take the stage in SantaBarbara, as the Cherries ramp up their preparations for the 2024/25 Premier League season with their Bourne in the USA tour.

“We are delighted to announce this game as we confirm our summer tour plans,” said AFC Bournemouth Chief Executive Neill Blake. “We’re extremely excited to be bringing our team to America, and look forward to this being our opening match. It will provide a good first test for us as we look to continue building on our successes in the Premier League. We can’t wait to see our stateside Cherries fans, and we look forward to introducing ourselves to many more while in California.”