UC Santa Barbara is set to host a pair of professional international soccer clubs as Wrexham AFC and AFC Bournemouth will clash at Harder Stadium on July 20th.
The match will be the first of Wrexham’s “Wrex Coast Tour” while Bournemouth will be in the middle of their “Bourne in the USA Tour.”
“To be part of the Wrex Coast Tour, and host Wrexham AFC and AFC Bournemouth here in Santa Barbara is hugely exciting,” UCSB Athletic Director Kelly Barsky said. “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.”
Tickets for this showdown of British squads will be on sale through AXS with an exclusive presale for Santa Barbara community groups opening on Thursday, April 25 at 8 am PST.
Team presale tickets will begin on Thursday at 10 am PST while general public tickets hit the market at 12 pm PST. Tickets can be found at this link.
Wrexham AFC, who will compete in English Football League One this season, have made waves since 2020 when actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds purchased the club.
The club has also been the focus of the Emmy award-winning docu-series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ on FX.
Wrexham is the oldest professional soccer club in Wales and the third oldest in the world.
“This is a hugely exciting announcement for our club, as we add another Premier League club to our Wrex Coast Tour in North America,” Wrexham Executive Director Humphrey Ker said.
“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 in California 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.”
Meanwhile, AFC Bournemouth have competed in the Premier League since 2015, England’s top soccer league.
AFC Bournemouth is owned by Bill Foley and first-year Spanish head coach Andoni Iraola has built a strong and entertaining style of play with the club.
Youthful stars such as Dominic Solanke, Justin Kluivert and US Men’s National Team captain Tyler Adams will suit up for AFC Bournemouth at Harder Stadium.
“We are delighted to announce this game as we confirm our summer tour plans,” AFC Bournemouth Chief Executive Neill Blake said. “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.”
TEG Sport will be the event promoter for the match in late July.
This announcement of the second game of the Wrex Coast Tour is a fantastic matchup that will see Wrexham AFC test themselves against one of the most interesting and up-and-coming teams in the Premier League,” TEG Sport CEO Geoff Jones said.
“We know the demand for elite competition between European soccer clubs is high in the States, and we are delighted to be able to bring AFC Bournemouth into the fold as a partner. “This clash is sure to be an entertaining match, and we look forward to seeing lots of fans at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara.”
