College Football Organisers Insist Aviva Showdown WILL Go Ahead, Amid Doubts Over Sanctioning

Organisers behind Dublin's upcoming College Football Classic have insisted that they have "no concerns" over the staging of the September event, despite not having the game sanctioned by the local governing bodies.

A report by Steve O'Rourke and Paul Hosford on TheJournal.ie today stated that, while an application had been lodged, organisers "had yet to demonstrate compliance with the safety, welfare and insurance requirements for playing games in Ireland" according to the Irish American Football Association.

The deadline for this process passed on Thursday of last week.

In addition to that, the Irish American Football Association is claiming that it's owed €11,000 in legal fees relating to the sanctioning process – which were to be absorbed by organisers Irish American Events Limited, according to documents seen by TheJournal.ie reporters.

Bullish response

The official Twitter account for the event has remained insistent that the game would "100%" go ahead – however this has led to increased questioning.

We're 100% sure the game on September 3rd, which is sanctioned by the NCAA, is going ahead in the Aviva stadium

— College Football Ireland (@cfbireland) June 20, 2016

You see, it's not sanctioned by the ncaa because they don't sanction games. USA Football do https://t.co/joFRyj8PBe

— Steve O'Rourke (@steveohrourke) June 20, 2016

But while you're finally answering some questions, can you confirm you signed a sanctioning doc with the Iafa? https://t.co/joFRyj8PBe

— Steve O'Rourke (@steveohrourke) June 20, 2016

And, by signing that doc, agreed to their sanctioning requirements for the game? https://t.co/joFRyj8PBe

— Steve O'Rourke (@steveohrourke) June 20, 2016

Fair play to TheJournal.ie for chasing this so ruthlessly – and we'll be interested to see where this goes.

You can read their full report here.