Pre-season 2026/2027: Time to hit the ground running!
The season is over. The disappointment has been processed, holidays have been booked, and slowly the excitement is building again everywhere. Because as much as we sometimes like to distance ourselves from football, in the end, we're all looking forward to exactly the same thing: that very first practice match, the first lukewarm beers by the pitch, and reuniting with familiar faces from all over the country.
For NAC too, preparations for the 2026/2027 season are largely on paper. And, as every year, that means several splendid road trips for The Yellow Army. Time to load up the cars, get the cool boxes ready, and make sure we leave our mark everywhere we go. Both literally and figuratively.
We're starting back in the region
On Monday, June 29, the squad will report to Zundert for the first public training session at the B&O Infra Training Complex. A perfect opportunity to witness the players' first steps for free. A few days later, it's time for the first real match of the summer.
Wednesday, July 1 โ Etten-Leur United
๐ Sportpark Internos, Etten-Leur | ๐ 7:00 PM
Just as it should be. No grand stadiums, no excessive security measures or fuss. Just a wonderful summer evening at a sports park in the region, where the first supporters are already leaning over the fence. We'll see which players have returned fit from the beach and which new faces are wearing the sacred yellow and black for the first time.
Wednesday, July 8 โ FC Eindhoven
๐ Sportpark Rood-Wit, Sint Willebrord | ๐ 7:00 PM
A week later, NAC travels to Sint Willebrord. Another typical match where the result is completely secondary. It's about watching good old NAC again. Meeting acquaintances, a cold drink in hand, and especially the feeling that the real work is getting closer step by step.
Training camp in Zeeland: Yellow and black on the coast
From July 13 to 18, NAC will exchange Breda for the Zeeland air. The squad will set up its training camp there to work hard for a week on automatisms and physical labor. For the players, these are traditionally the toughest days of the year; for the supporters, they are often the best days of the summer.
A training camp annually produces the same legendary ingredients: yellow-black shirts dominating the Zeeland terrace scene, supporters catching a training session, and of course, the necessary stories that will be retold at the bar for the rest of the season. Those who are on the Zeeland coast that week won't have to wonder where the atmosphere is to be found.
Saturday, July 18 โ Excelsior
๐ Location and time to follow via NAC
To conclude the training camp, NAC will play against Excelsior. An opponent who immediately offers more resistance and thus forms the ideal benchmark for the final weeks of preparation. A great opportunity to conclude the Zeeland adventure with a match before we cross the borders.
Visiting friends in Lokeren
Saturday, July 25 โ KSC Lokeren
๐ Daknamstadion, Lokeren | ๐ 4:00 PM
Of all the matches on the schedule, this is the absolute friendly highlight for the supporters. This has nothing to do with the sporting status of the opponent, but everything with the deep, years-long bond that exists between NAC and Lokeren. Friendships that have developed over decades, shared nights out, exchanges, and an incredibly warm welcome back and forth.
A trip to Lokeren never feels like just another practice match. It feels like coming home to friends. Kick-off at the Daknamstadion has been definitively set for Saturday, July 25 at 4:00 PM (note: the earlier rumor of Friday, July 25 is incorrect!). Ticket sales are entirely online via Lokeren's Roboticket platform, and ticket booths open on match day at 2:00 PM. Tickets for the atmospheric Tribune 3 (standing and seated) cost only ten euros. This will be an old-fashioned yellow-and-black party across the border!
The English finale: Call for a Yellow-Black Invasion!
Saturday, August 1 โ Bolton Wanderers
๐ Bolton, England | ๐ Time and location to follow
Ending preparation against a traditional English club still has something magical about it. Bolton Wanderers breathes pure football history, wooden stands, and the cradle of football. Originally, another match was planned in the region, but that match has been definitively cancelled. That means only one thing: all focus on England! No more excuses, this is the reason to cross the North Sea en masse.
We call on every supporter to come along and ensure a complete yellow-black invasion of Bolton! Let's show those English what atmosphere is all about. Hang the flags from hotel windows, claim the pubs, and make sure the away end shakes to its foundations. This will be a legendary trip that we'll be talking about for years.
The most wonderful time of the year has begun
Perhaps the beauty of a pre-season is that everything is still completely open. New players get their first minutes, youngsters from the club's own academy get to prove themselves, and supporters plan their first away trips abroad. Everyone in the stands is already talking about what should be possible this year.
The first journeys are planned. Etten-Leur, Sint Willebrord, Zeeland, Lokeren and the big finale in Bolton. Make sure you're ready, color the summer yellow and black, and support the club and the atmosphere!
