Drogheda United are heading into the unknown this autumn – and they might just run into Mohamed Salah on the way.
The League of Ireland club have confirmed a glamour friendly against Turkish giants Trabzonspor at Papara Park on 1 October, a landmark occasion that will see the Louth side play in Turkey for the first time in their history.
It is more than a pre-season style run-out dropped into the calendar. The fixture forms part of the build-up to the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Turkey in 2026 and leans heavily on a bond that stretches all the way back to the 19th century.
A modern game built on an old story
Drogheda are one of three official sister clubs of Trabzonspor, alongside Sanlıurfaspor and Siirt Provincial Special Administration Sport, a relationship that carries a remarkable backstory.
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer podcast in 2020, former Drogheda United PRO Roisin Philips traced the roots of the link far beyond the formal announcement in 2011.
"It goes back far longer than 2011 when they announced that we'd become their sister club," she said. "In fact it goes back to the Great Famine in 1845. Drogheda had links with Turkey as a result of the Sultan at the time sending aid over to the Irish people. Boats came up the Boyne in Drogheda. He also sent £1,000 at the time.
"There's been a long history of co-operation between the two countries, from the Turkish side to Ireland."
That history will be front and centre around the match. A documentary, An Gorta Mór – The Star & The Crescent, will accompany the occasion on Turkish television, exploring the story of Ottoman humanitarian assistance during the Irish Famine and how it eventually helped forge a footballing connection between a Black Sea powerhouse and a town on the Boyne.
Salah factor hovers over friendly
On the pitch, all eyes drift naturally to one name.
Trabzonspor have assembled a star-studded squad in recent seasons, headlined by Salah, who moved to the club after drawing a glittering chapter at Liverpool to a close. He is joined in Trabzon by his former Anfield team-mate Fabinho and ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, underlining the scale of the challenge awaiting Drogheda.
Whether Salah actually lines out against the Irish side is another matter. The game falls during a three-week international break, and Egypt are scheduled to face South Sudan in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on 27 September. With that commitment on his plate and Trabzonspor’s Süper Lig campaign resuming the following week with a trip to Samsunspor, the club’s marquee forward may sit out the friendly.
Even so, the possibility alone adds a different edge. For Drogheda’s players, staff and travelling support, the idea of sharing a pitch – or at least a stage – with one of the defining forwards of his generation turns a useful workout into a genuine event.
A mini-camp with meaning
For Drogheda, the timing works. The club will use the journey as a late-season mini-camp during the break, a chance to reset, sharpen fitness and test themselves against elite opposition in a hostile, high-intensity environment.
It is not every year a League of Ireland side gets dropped into a top-level Turkish stadium, with cameras rolling and a century-and-a-half of shared history woven into the build-up. The result will not define their season. The experience might.
From famine aid ships on the Boyne to a footballing date at Papara Park, the route has been anything but straightforward. Now the question is simple: how will Drogheda measure up when that long story finally runs into one of Europe’s most star-studded squads?
