Holstein Kiel step up their preparations for the new Bundesliga 2 season with a 10-day training camp in Minnesota, United States, beginning 29 June.

Kiel will set up camp in the city of Minneapolis, where they will train for the 2025/26 campaign and play a friendly match against Major League Soccer (MLS) club Minnesota United on 7 July.

“This trip is a great opportunity to present German football and Holstein Kiel, particularly to the United States, with a year until the start of the 2026 [FIFA] World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico,” commented former Kiel sporting director Carsten Wehlmann following confirmation of the tour at the start of 2025.

“I’m expecting top conditions at the training camp, where we will not only prepare ourselves for the season, but also gather a lot of great and interesting experiences and grow together as a team. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the DFL and our agency Match IQ [for organising the trip].”

As well as the Minnesota Utd fixture, Kiel’s first team will play an exhibition against the Holstein reserves. They will also go on a boat tour to mark 4 July and visit the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, as well as a local German immersion school, before flying home on 9 July.

A Kiel outfit boasting US international full-back John Tolkin were relegated at the end of their first ever season in the Bundesliga, after finishing seven points adrift of outright safety. They begin life back in Bundesliga 2 on the weekend beginning 1 August.

Bundesliga duo Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are currently stateside for the revamped FIFA Club World Cup, while Eintracht Frankfurt will travel to Louisville, Kentucky for a pre-season training camp from 22 July to 3 August.