Birmingham City confirms a 2024/25 pre-season tour

Birmingham City Football Club has officially announced their preseason plans for the 2024/25 season.

The club will travel on a week-long training tour to Austria, beginning on Monday, July 8th and ending on Sunday, July 14th.

During their stay in Austria, the team is set to play a friendly encounter, the details of which will be announced shortly.

The announcement marks the club’s return to the gorgeous European country following a six-year absence. The Blues last visited before the 2018/19 Sky Bet Championship season, when they met Russian side Akhmat Grozny and German outfit SSV Ulm. The team had mixed fortunes in the matches, losing narrowly 1-0 to Akhmat Grozny while drawing with SSV Ulm. Blues typically play local clubs on international tours, with prospective opponents including Red Bull Salzburg, LASK, Rapid Wien, and Sturm Graz on the next tour.

The club’s decision to use Austria as the pre-season training facility represents a strategic move to allow supporters enough time to plan their visit. This meticulous planning contrasts sharply with the previous year’s hastily arranged trip to Spain, when John Eustace’s team spent a week in Murcia and played a friendly against FC Cartagena.

Rumours had circulated that Birmingham City were planning a pre-season trip of the United States. However, at the official fans club meeting on February 21st, the club firmly announced that a USA tour would not be part of their plans for the 2024/25 season. While the Blues will not be crossing the Atlantic this time, it is clear that the club is still open to investigating prospects for a future visit to the United States.

As the pre-season tour to Austria is approved, it provides a unique opportunity for devoted fans to see the country in the run-up to the new season, breaking away from the regular routine of trips to Spain and meetings with lower league local clubs. The Blues want to start the pre-season as a championship team, but with 12 key games left in the current season, their performances are critical to avoiding relegation.