Swansea City head to America for pre-season tour
Swansea City's pre-season plans have been boosted by a two-game tour in America.
The Swans will head Stateside for an 11-day tour between July 7-17, with a training camp in Washington DC followed by two friendly matches.
This will be the third time the club have headed to America for a pre-season tour, having visited Colorado and California in 2012 before returning to Chicago, Milwaukee and Minnesota two years later.
Both tours helped prepare the Swans for hugely successful seasons, with the club lifting the Capital One Cup in 2013 while a record-breaking campaign was sealed in 2015.
Francesco Guidolin will hope to see similar success this season as the Italian looks forward to his first full season in charge.
After a week-long training camp in Washington, the Swans are set to play a friendly on Wednesday, July 13, with the opponents to be confirmed soon.
Then, on Saturday, July 16, United Soccer League club Richmond Kickers will host the Swans at the City Stadium (Richmond, Virginia) at 7pm local time, with the venue's capacity set at 9,000 for football matches.
The Kickers, who are currently seventh in the third tier of the American pyramid, have previously faced the Swans' Premier League opponents Crystal Palace and West Brom in the last two years.
"Pre-season is a hugely important part of a campaign, and our tour to America will really benefit us as we prepare for the 2016-17 Premier League season," said Guidolin.
"It will be my first pre-season in charge at the club, and I'm really looking forward to the training camp and also the forthcoming matches.
"We are really looking forward to our friendly with Richmond Kickers, who will give us the test we need as we approach the beginning of the new campaign.
"It's an exciting tour for us and I believe we will gain a lot from it."
Richmond Kickers Director of Soccer, Leigh Cowlishaw, who hails from Burton Upon Trent, said: "We are delighted to announce that the world's greatest sports league will return to City Stadium on Saturday, July 16.
"Swansea City have an inspired history and tradition with a truly remarkable story over the last decade, establishing themselves as one of the top teams in the English Premier League.
"The atmosphere at City Stadium is guaranteed to be electric and we look forward to having this high-profile exhibition highlight a very exciting season."
Tickets for the final tour game against Richmond Kickers will be priced $30/$45. They will go on sale on Tuesday, June 7 at RichmondKickers.com.
The pre-season tour has been arranged by PSC Ltd (www.pscltd.co.uk), who also arranged the club's two previous tours to America in 2012 and 2014.
Further details of the tour will follow in due course.
Swans' pre-season fixtures
July 13: America tour: Opponents to be confirmed
July 16: America tour: Richmond Kickers (City Stadium, Virginia) 7pm local time
July 23: Bristol Rovers (Memorial Stadium) 3pm
July 27: Swindon Town (County Ground) 7.45pm
July 30: Wolverhampton Wanderers (Molineux) 3pm
August 6: Stade Rennais (Liberty Stadium) 3pm
