Drogheda United's Historic Match Against Trabzonspor

Drogheda United are heading into uncharted territory – and they might just run into Mohamed Salah when they get there.

The League of Ireland club have confirmed a glamour friendly against Turkish giants Trabzonspor at Papara Park on 1 October, the first time the Louth side will play a match on Turkish soil.

The fixture drops into the calendar during a three-week international break and will double as a late-season mini-camp for Drogheda, offering Kevin Doherty’s squad a rare taste of a major European stage.

Whether Salah actually lines out is another matter. The Egypt star is due to face South Sudan in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on 27 September, and with Trabzonspor’s Super Lig campaign resuming the following week away to Samsunspor, the club may choose to manage his minutes carefully. The possibility alone, though, underlines the scale of the occasion for Drogheda.

Trabzonspor have assembled a star-laden squad in recent seasons. Salah arrived after closing the book on a glittering spell at Liverpool, and he was joined in Trabzon by former Anfield team-mate Fabinho and ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, underlining the club’s ambition and pulling power.

This meeting is about far more than 90 minutes of football.

It forms part of a wider celebration of the long, unusual bond between Ireland and Turkey, with the two countries marking 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2026. Drogheda are one of Trabzonspor’s three official sister clubs, alongside Sanlıurfaspor and Siirt Provincial Special Administration Sport, a relationship rooted in a story that stretches back nearly two centuries.

A new Turkish TV documentary – ‘An Gorta Mór – The Star & The Crescent’ – will run alongside the game, exploring the tale of Ottoman humanitarian aid during the Irish Famine. The title links the Irish tragedy of An Gorta Mór with the crescent of the Turkish flag, a nod to a chapter of shared history that still resonates in Drogheda.

Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer podcast in 2020, former Drogheda United PRO Roisin Philips outlined how deep those ties go.

"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."

From famine relief ships on the Boyne to a modern-day friendly in a 40,000-seater stadium on the Black Sea coast, the story has taken a remarkable turn. Now Drogheda’s players will step into that history, walk out at Papara Park and test themselves against a club powered by Salah, Fabinho and Onana.

For a League of Ireland side, it’s more than a friendly. It’s a window into a different footballing world – and a reminder that some fixtures carry a weight that goes far beyond the scoreline.