Texas A&M hosts international soccer players at Kyle Field one month before kick off

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Two international soccer players stopped by Kyle Field Wednesday where they talked with leaders about their upcoming match in the stadium.

This is a friendly match on June 8 between Brazil and Mexico professional men’s soccer teams as they prepare for the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America Tournament. It was a friendly event even with the competitors and legends, Emerson da Rosa from Brazil and Pavel Pardo from Mexico, in attendance. The friends told a group of media that their relationship changes when they take the field.

The event was hosted by MEXTOUR Media Officer, Gabe Gabor, who discussed how this is more than a match, comparing it to the Super Bowl.

“We get folks buying tickets from 30 different states. They drive in, make a weekend out of it, 30 different states. Not to mention the different countries and there will be fans following Mexico from Mexico and Brazil from Brazil, so you’re looking at a true international and national event. Also, you’ll see during the week, the game is just a small part of it. There’s a fan festival that happens outside, there are player appearances, autograph sessions, things like that. So don’t just think of it like it’s going to be 90 minutes. It’s going to be an entire event that’s going to be here throughout the week,” he said.

This is the first international soccer match that Kyle Field will host. It’s not the only unique event taking place this summer or even June. Just days after the teams leave town, a concert will be moving in. Texas A&M Athletic Director Trev Alberts said this will hopefully become the norm.

“Across all of college athletics, especially in college football, most of the time you’ve got an incredible asset sitting there empty other than seven Saturdays of fall,” he said. “This is a Herculean task for our staff and then you combine the fact that this isn’t the only thing we’re doing this summer. The fact that you’re going to do any events outside the norm and then you’re going to do multiple ones is new for us. I really don’t think that that’s going to be outside the norm not just here, but the rest of college athletics. We’ve got to think differently, we’ve got to think entrepreneurially and so beyond just the George Strait performance and opportunities from a revenue perspective. I think the ancillary benefits of aligning with excellence and where our brand and our students and young people are looking at our institution. This is a big deal for us.”

Tickets are on sale for the soccer game here. Tickets for George Strait can be found here.