[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, Manchester United is preparing for its first Scandinavian pre-season tour in nearly 30 years. The club has confirmed friendly matches in Helsinki and Gothenburg, which could be their first games under the new head coach. Discussions are still ongoing, but Manchester United is finalizing plans, with sources describing it as an unconventional tour due to the upcoming World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The last time Manchester United played in Finland’s capital, Helsinki, was during the 1965 European Cup against Helsinki. Gothenburg eliminated Manchester United from the Champions League in 1994, and the club later returned to the Swedish city in 2012 for a friendly match against Barcelona, followed by another match against Galatasaray four years later. The World Cup final on July 19 will be the latest since 1966, which impacts Manchester United’s pre-season plans.
In the past three seasons, Manchester United has conducted pre-season tours in the U.S., but it will not be able to do so for the fourth consecutive year because the U.S. is one of the co-hosts of the World Cup. This has led Manchester United to turn to Scandinavia, where they have one of their largest fan bases outside the UK and Ireland.