‘Healthy competition’: Women’s Euro 2025 forges Sporting Jax bond for home preseason debut

Through Florida’s scorching July heat, the midday oasis of soccer in Europe has helped bring Sporting Club Jacksonville’s new roster together.

So maybe it’s appropriate that European soccer will again play a part in the club’s next milestone, when Sporting Jax kicks off its home women’s soccer preseason against Scottish champion Hibernian at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium.

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The match will be the first ever on the First Coast for a top-division Jacksonville professional women’s team in any sport, coming after nearly a month of preseason workouts.

European soccer is now thoroughly familiar for them: Day in, day out, much of Sporting Jax‘s roster gathered after its July practices to watch Europe’s best as they competed across the world at UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland.

“We were sitting at lunch, watching the Euros whenever they were on,” said Sporting Jax goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg, who was born in Germany and played for Germany’s Under-19 team before her college years at Indiana. “We had little watch parties going on, so it was almost an everyday topic for sure.”

Forged by those hours watching some of Europe’s giants over the summer, Sporting Jax now turns its attention to a proven champion opponent before the Aug. 23 Gainbridge Super League opener.

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“For us, to play against a team of that quality says a lot for us,” Sporting Jax head coach Stacey Balaam said.

Sporting Jax: From Germany to Spain

With a lineup gathered from all around the planet, the chance to tune in remotely for the European championship held in Switzerland turned into a bonding opportunity for Sporting Jax’s 24-player training roster.

“We’ve got so many different backgrounds, so many things to share, especially with the Euros going on as well,” said defender Georgia Brown, who described the tournament as the source of “a bit of healthy competition around the camp.”

For Sporting Jax players like Gerstenberg, July meant following their national team’s every move from across the planet.

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Gerstenberg’s favorite moment, shared with thousands of fans worldwide, came in the quarterfinal when Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger launched an improbable acrobatic save against France. Still, it wasn’t quite enough for eight-time European champion Germany, knocked out in the final four.

“That was just incredible,” Gerstenberg said. “In general, I think the goalies were really good, a lot of outstanding moments.”

The excitement built to a crescendo for the July 27 final between Spain and England, in a locker room with both nations (former Flagler College forward Andrea Fernandez for Spain, forward Jade Pennock and head coach Balaam for England) represented.

England, long bedeviled by penalty kick shootouts in both men’s and women’s soccer, finally emerged on top.

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“Half the group were rooting for Spain, and half the group at lunch were rooting for England,” Balaam said. “It was really nice. It was like a room divided, but it was good banter and we all watched it together.”

Hibernian brings championship background

First on the list of Sporting Jax opponents is the Edinburgh-based Hibernian, which hoisted its fourth Scottish championship during the spring under head coach Grant Scott. The club, among the oldest in Great Britain, celebrated the 150th anniversary of its men’s team this year.

Sporting Jax isn’t underestimating the opposition. Hibernian isn’t underestimating the heat.

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“As soon as you walk out, you just feel the heat wave hit you,” said Hibernian captain Rachael Boyle, who has represented Scotland’s national team more than 40 times.

Even though their opponents face a far-from-familiar climate — the United Kingdom Met Office forecast Edinburgh’s high temperature for Aug. 2 at 69 degrees — Sporting Jax expects a challenge from a Hibernian lineup that’s in preparation for the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

“Playing European teams in general is going to be different, like a different type of soccer,” Gerstenberg said.

Sporting Jax president Steve Livingstone said more than 7,000 tickets had been sold as of July 30.

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The match also marks a reunion for Sporting Jax’s Brown, who has lined up alongside several Hibernian players during her time with Scotland’s women’s Under-23 national team.

She’s hoping to give her international teammates a Florida welcome, and her hometown fans their first preseason win.

“The standard they hold for themselves is very high,” Brown said. “I think it’ll be a great test to see where we compare to that European standard.”

Sporting Jax: The international connection

England: Head coach Stacey Balaam, associate coach Alan Kirkup, head of soccer Mark Warburton, forward Jade Pennock

Germany: Goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg

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New Zealand: Midfielder Helena Errington

Scotland: Defender Georgia Brown

Spain: Forward Andrea Fernandez

Tonga: Defender Davi Vaka

Sporting Jax vs. Hibernian preseason soccer preview

When: 7 p.m. Aug. 2.

Where: UNF Hodges Stadium.

TV/streaming: WTLV TV-12 and firstcoastnews.com.

The skinny: This exhibition is the first-ever home game for a top-division Northeast Florida club in any professional women’s sport. … Hibernian won the Scottish Women’s Premier League in 2024-25 and will be using the game as a tune-up for the UEFA Women’s Champions League. … The match also serves as a tribute to Ron Gordon, who owned Hibernian from 2019 until his death in 2023. Sporting Jax president Steve Livingstone said Gordon also played a supporting role in the Jacksonville club’s launch. … Sporting Jax also plays Wrexham of Wales on Aug. 10 before beginning its Gainbridge Super League season on Aug. 23. … Hibernian midfielder Rachael Boyle and teammates are keeping eyes on the water in Florida: “We’ll be curious to see if we see an alligator.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sporting Club Jacksonville begins preseason vs. Scotland’s Hibernian