St. James’ Park’s Involvement in the Olympics
As you’d expect, football is the sport that will be taking place on Tyneside, as St. James’ Park will play host to a number of matches in this year’s Olympic tournament.
As a matter of fact, St. James’ Park has already begun hosting games, as the Olympic football began on Wednesday. Thursday’s games between Mexico & South Korea and Gabon & Switserland were played at the stadium, and if you haven’t yet seen them, I won’t spoil them for you – they can be found in full here.
Most significantly, the stadium will host the quarter-finals of both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments, along with a few other games from the group stage.
In order to comply with tournament rules, the Sports Direct branding of the stadium has had to be removed from sight, with plain banners hanging over them to make it look like the old St. James’ Park.
This won’t be the first time St. James’ Park has hosted international football, but still it’s a great opportunity for the fans up North to experience what is a once in a life time opportunity.
The full Olympic football schedule is as follows, with the games at SJP in bold:
Men’s:
Sunday, July 29
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Mexico v Gabon (1430).
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: South Korea v Switzerland (1715).
- Old Trafford, Manchester: Brazil v Belarus (1200).
- Old Trafford, Manchester: Egypt v New Zealand (1445).
- St James’ Park, Newcastle: Spain v Honduras (1700).
- St James’ Park, Newcastle: Japan v Morocco (1945).
- Wembley Stadium, London: Senegal v Uruguay (1700).
- Wembley Stadium, London: Great Britain v United Arab Emirates (1945).
Wednesday, August 1
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Japan v Honduras (1700).
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Senegal v United Arab Emirates (1945).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: Mexico v Switzerland (1700).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: Great Britain v Uruguay (1945).
- Old Trafford, Manchester: Spain v Morocco (1700).
- St James’ Park, Newcastle: Brazil v New Zealand (1430).
- Hampden Park, Glasgow: Egypt v Belarus (1430).
- Wembley Stadium, London: South Korea v Gabon (1700).
Saturday, August 4
- Old Trafford, Manchester: Quarter-final (1200).
- Wembley Stadium, London: Quarter-final (1430).
- St James’ Park, Newcastle: Quarter-final (1700).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: Quarter-final (1930).
Tuesday, August 7
- Wembley Stadium, London: Semi-final (1700).
- Old Trafford, Manchester: Semi-final (1945).
Friday, August 10
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: Third place play-off (1945).
Saturday, August 11
- Wembley Stadium, London: Final (1500).
Women’s:
Wednesday, July 25
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Japan v Canada (1700).
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Sweden v South Africa (1945).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: Great Britain v New Zealand (1600).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: Cameroon v Brazil (1845).
- Hampden Park, Glasgow: United States v France (1700).
- Hampden Park, Glasgow: Colombia v North Korea (1945).
Saturday, July 28
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Japan v Sweden (1200).
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Canada v South Africa (1445).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: New Zealand v Brazil (1430).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: Great Britain v Cameroon (1715).
- Hampden Park, Glasgow: United States v Colombia (1700).
- Hampden Park, Glasgow: France v North Korea (1945).
Tuesday, July 31
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: New Zealand v Cameroon (1945).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Japan v South Africa (1430).
- Old Trafford, Manchester: United States v North Korea (1715).
- St James’ Park, Newcastle: Canada v Sweden (1430).
- St James’ Park, Newcastle: France v Colombia (1715).
- Wembley Stadium, London: Great Britain v Brazil (1945).
Friday, August 3
- Hampden Park, Glasgow: Quarter-final (1200).
- St James’ Park, Newcastle: Quarter-final (1430).
- Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: Quarter-final (1700).
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Quarter-final (1930).
Monday, August 6
- Wembley Stadium, London: Semi-final (1700).
- Old Trafford, Manchester: Semi-final (1945).
Thursday, August 9
- City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry: Third place play-off (1300).
- Wembley Stadium, London: Final (1945).
The Spectator's View 
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