Exhibition between Liverpool FC and Real Betis shines light on Pittsburgh's burgeoning soccer scene

There’s no debating Pittsburgh’s identity as a great sports town.

The Steelers, Penguins and Pirates all have rich histories with multiple championships and great players.

Soccer, despite growing in popularity around the United States, Pittsburgh included, does not possess the same pedigree as football, hockey and baseball in town.

But Pittsburgh is about to host a heavyweight soccer match Friday evening, with Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League and Real Betis of Spain’s La Liga set to face off in an exhibition, or friendly, at Acrisure Stadium.

In a sense, Friday’s match at 7:30 p.m. offers an opportunity for Pittsburgh to assert itself as more of a soccer town.

“Hopefully on a tangible scale, it proves that Pittsburgh’s a great host city for this kind of event,” Robert Morris men’s soccer coach Jonathan Potter said. “You see so many of these European teams doing American tours. It’d be great to see Pittsburgh being a spot where every year, we’re getting a couple of these teams coming over and some great friendly games.

“I suppose for a lot of people in West Virginia, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, this is a special occasion and different event. I think you’ll see so many people coming into the city from nearby just to enjoy the weekend here.”

Ben Latty, Liverpool’s chief commercial officer, expects 40,000-45,000 fans Friday at Acrisure Stadium, which seats just over 68,000, with the potential for the final attendance number to rise with day-of “walk-ups.”

With Liverpool and the Penguins both under the Fenway Sports Group ownership umbrella, communication between the franchises proved helpful once Pittsburgh was selected as one of three cities the soccer club would visit this summer.

“I think when we opened up discussions on which cities we could play in, Pittsburgh was very high on that list, not only because of the fan base and our relationships with sports entities in this city, but also, the Steelers’ training facility is incredible,” he said.

“And the stadium — our groundsmen have been over here preparing for a number of weeks. They came over here four weeks ago to make sure the turf was ready for our arrival, and it’s had glowing reports. We’re very confident that this is the right location for us.”

Fans of the game and those within Pittsburgh’s soccer scene — youth, collegiate and professional alike — might push back at any suggestion of the city not boasting a strong soccer foundation.

After all, just last year the Riverhounds put together a 13-match undefeated run, finished atop the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference standings and captured the Players’ Shield with the league’s best record (19-5-10).

Jay Vidovich’s Pitt Panthers advanced to the College Cup in 2020 and 2022, and Duquesne has produced two straight top-five finishes in the Atlantic 10.

Furthermore, the city soon will welcome a new professional soccer club.

The Riverhounds ownership group this past spring announced the founding of a women’s team to compete in USL W League beginning in 2025.

For Adam Mitchell, assistant coach for the Dukes, Friday’s match at Acrisure Stadium isn’t any sort of seismic event that will change the landscape of soccer fandom in Pittsburgh.

Yet, its high-profile nature could have benefits locally.

“The opportunity to go watch a live game of a Premier League team and a La Liga team, it’s cool for any fan,” Mitchell said. “Hopefully it’s a load of young fans there that get to go and see that. Maybe that trickles down to wanting to go to the Riverhounds or go to Steel City (of the National Premiere Soccer League) or come and watch a Duquesne or Pitt game.

“This one isolated event — and it’s a friendly, an exhibition — I do think it adds to the general excitement you have in the local Pennsylvania area.”

In addition to appreciating the light that Friday’s match can shine on soccer in Pittsburgh , Riverhounds sporting director Dan Visser has had a front-row seat to Liverpool’s community outreach efforts while in town.

“I think it’s a very cool thing that LFC Foundation goes to travel around Pittsburgh with the team and impact the local communities as they move about the United States,” Visser said.

“To bring clubs of the size of Liverpool and Real Betis to Pittsburgh and showcase our emerging passion for the game is a really cool thing.”