From Ibiza to USA and Cork - Preston North End's pre-season tours of the past revisited ahead of Getafe clash

To many, pre-season is simply an opportunity for players to get minutes into their legs ahead of the season proper.

On several occasions in recent years, though, it has given Preston North End fans lifelong memories as they travelled far and wide to back their beloved club.

Ahead of this week’s clash with Getafe CF, in Oliva Nova Sports Center in Valencia, we look back at North End’s other pre-season excursions over the years...

2004: Ibiza

Craig Brown’s final pre-season as PNE boss saw him take his squad to Spain for a four-team tournament: the Copa de Ibiza. Fellow Championship outfit Watford and then League One side Sheffield Wednesday also took part in the pre-season competition, which was hosted by the other participants, SD Portmany, who had just won promotion to the fourth tier of Spanish football.

Four games were played: two semi finals, a final and a third placed play-off. North End lost 3-2 to the Owls in a semi final before taking on Portmany in the play-off, with Watford winning the cup eventually. This took place just six weeks before Brown left the club. He was replaced by assistant manager, Billy Davies, who led the side for the remainder of what would be a memorable season, albeit with an agonising ending of a play-off final defeat at the hands of West Ham United.

2007: United States

North End spent 10 days out in America before the 2007/08 campaign. The squad and coaching staff were treated with huge respect out in the States and they toured several well known sports grounds and company headquarters, such as watching Portland Beavers’ baseball and touring Nike HQ.

Portland Timbers, one of three clubs that Paul Simpson’s side played out there, shared content on their website promoting North End’s time across the pond. Their tour began on July 23 with a game against Seattle Sounders at the 67,000 capacity Qwest Field, now known as Lumen Field, which ended in a 2-1 defeat.

Patrick Agyemang found the net in that contest. Three days later, they moved to Sacramento to take on Mexican side Monterrey, who defeated them 2-0, before facing Portland Timbers just 48 hours later. Brett Ormerod got on the score sheet in a 2-1 loss. It was a tour that preceded a tough season for the Lilywhites, who sacked Simpson midway through a campaign in which they finished 15th.

2018: Cork

This was the first of two consecutive summers where North End spent a week in the Republic of Ireland in preparation for the new campaign. Alex Neil’s side’s training camp was the Fota Island Resort near to Cork, where their game against Cobh Ramblers was eventually played.

The match was scheduled to be played at Cobh’s Colman’s Park, on July 17, but was moved with just days to go due to ongoing pitch work. Instead, PNE took them on at Cork City’s Turners Cross ground and won 5-0 in front of a crowd of around 950.

Tom Barkhuizen got a hat trick that evening, with Graham Burke and Tom Clarke also finding the net. Cobh were in the First Division of the League of Ireland and managed by brother of ex-PNE ‘keeper Wayne Henderson, Stephen, who is now in charge of another team from that town in Cobh Wanderers.

This was a mid-season game for ‘The Ramblers’, who played their season from February to October. The training camp served as a homecoming to many players at the time – seven players in that squad had been born and raised in Ireland, and furthermore, three months prior to this friendly, Callum Robinson had decided to represent the ROI at international level.

2019: Cork

Neil’s PNE returned to Turners Cross just less than a year later to take on Cork, of the League of Ireland Premier Division. North End won 2-0 thanks to strikes from Jayden Stockley and Josh Ginnelly and, in contrast to the previous year where one XI played 60 minutes and another played 30, two different XIs were given a half each.

This game was played in front of an increased turnout of just under 1,500, with around 100 North Enders thought to be in attendance – and, if you didn’t know already, you may have been on TV! Snippets of the game and the pre-match atmosphere were used as the backdrop for some of the scenes in the fourth episode of the second series of BBC comedy ‘The Young Offenders’, which also starred Roy Keane.

Kevin O’Connor was on loan at Cork from North End at the time and featured in this game. One player who didn’t though was Callum Robinson – he was at the ground but wasn’t part of the match day squad, as he closed in on a move to then Premier League newcomers Sheffield United. For Cork, this was a warm up for a crunch Europa League qualifier against Luxembourg side Progrès Niederkorn, which they ultimately lost 3-2 on aggregate ten days later.

2021: St Andrews

North End had another fairly close training camp two years later but this time, supporters were unable to attend the games due to COVID restrictions. Then managed by Frankie McAvoy, they played two friendlies over one week against St Johnstone and Celtic, while training at their St Andrews base. A small group of PNE fans travelled to Perth to watch the St Johnstone game, from a public area overlooking McDiarmid Park.

St Johnstone were managed by former North End defender Callum Davidson at the time and had just enjoyed one of their most successful seasons in living memory, having picked up both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup in the 2020/21 campaign.

Ben Whiteman scored a beauty from 25 yards out as the two sides drew 1-1, before PNE took on Celtic, who had just appointed Ange Postecoglou. The Lilywhites won 1-0 with Whiteman again finding the net, this time from a spot kick.

2022: Campoamor

This marked the start of a yearly tradition under Ryan Lowe which supporters would recognise as a highlight of following North End in the last few years. Spending a week at Campoamor, just outside of Alicante, the squad made use of its state of the art training and recreational facilities, as hundreds of fans – many of whom staying in Benidorm - made the trip to support the lads for their midweek friendly.

PNE’s opponents were the same as they are this week, Getafe. At the time they had just completed a sixth successive season in La Liga and were managed by ex-Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores. Getafe were 2-1 victors on that warm Tuesday morning, with Ryan Ledson scoring early on. It will be remembered far more for the post-match scenes, where players mingled with fans, marking the first of what is now a series of memorable weeks in the Spanish summer sun.

2023: Campoamor

Just like the previous and the following year, North End spent a week at Campoamor in July 2023. Their friendly was against Bruno’s Magpies, a side from Gibraltar – initially formed as a pub team in 2013 - who have since merged with Calpe City to become Calpe City Magpies from the 2026/27 season.

Bruno’s Magpies have twice won the Gibraltar Rock Cup and have also had brief appearances in the qualifying rounds of the European Conference League, including that pre-season when they lost to Dundalk, 3-1 on aggregate.

Lowe always used pre-season as a chance to give young pros and academy talents an opportunity. A 3-0 win over ‘Magpies’, with goals from Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile, Noah Mawene and Kian Taylor, reflected this.

2024: Campoamor

The trip to Spain was made one final time in Lowe’s last pre-season at the club, and this time the squad were making preparations for a clash against fellow EFL side Lincoln City. The game took place at the same venue as the previous year – the Pinatar Arena – and ended in a 1-0 win for Lincoln. Unlike previous pre-seasons, this was North End’s opening friendly - usually they would have made the trip to one or two lower ranked North West sides by this point in July.

2025: Valencia

PNE will take on Getafe three years on from their first ever meeting later this week. Their manager now is José Bordalás, who has been in charge of ‘Azulones’ for over two years in what is his second spell at the club - one of 12 he has taken charge of in his career.

They finished 13th in La Liga last season and are now readying themselves for a ninth straight season in Spain’s top tier. As for North End, Montenegro international Andrija Vukčević has joined up with the squad for the week. The defender has made 18 international appearances for his country.

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