Bill Belichick reveals his feelings on playing Aer Lingus Classic in Ireland

It was announced in late April that the North Carolina Tar Heels and the TCU Horned Frogs are going to open the 2026 college football season in Ireland. The next game of the Aer Lingus Classic, it’s become a traditional Week 0 game and looks like it will now feature legendary head coach Bill Belichick.

Recently, Belichick shared his thoughts on the game. In particular, how he thinks it can prepare players and staff for future neutral site opportunities, which are fairly common in college football.

“It’s just a very unique opportunity and experience for all of us,” Bill Belichick said. “Playing abroad is different. Fans are different, the environment is different, but it prepares you for any other situation that can come up. Just any other neutral game, neutral site. Fortunately, our staff has done a lot of these, so I’m sure that everything will go smoothly as it always has. Little bit of an issue in Mexico, but otherwise it’ll be great.”

In 2017, the New England Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders 33-8 in a neutral site game played in Mexico. At the time, he cited natural disasters like volcanoes and earthquakes as concerns his team had preparing for the game. It was difficult to tell at the time if he was being serious or joking, but he didn’t seem in a rush to return.

“It’s a great experience,” Belichick said. “You remember a lot of the big games and then you remember the international games.”

North Carolina is also set to open the 2025 season against TCU. That game is going to be a home game for the Tar Heels. Initially, their 2026 matchup was set to be the return game to Forth Worth between the two teams. Now, it’s being moved to the neutral site in Dublin. At this time, the two don’t have any future games scheduled beyond that.

Since 2016, games in Ireland have been called the Aer Lingus Classic and have been held in Aviva Stadium. Prior to that, college games had been played in Ireland under different names and at various stadiums. Aviva Stadium has a 49,000 capacity. In 2025, a Big 12 rivalry game between Iowa State and Kansas State is going to be held there.

Once North Carolina returns to the United States in 2026, the Tar Heels will have three more non-conference games by October 3rd. That includes ETSU, UConn, and Notre Dame. No other regular season game that season is currently scheduled for a neutral site.