Events
Wrexham and Sunderland prepare for Friendly at Subaru Park
Wrexham and Sunderland will face off in a pre-season friendly at Subaru Park tomorrow, August 2nd at 12 p.m. Wrexham, co-owned by Philadelphia native Rob Mac, are making their return to the Philadelphia area after a friendly match against Union II in 2023. Ahead of the friendly, Wrexham held a training session at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex on Saturday morning.
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson spoke to media at training. “It’s good to be back, and to see how the training complex has developed in the last three years — they’ve made great strides here and it’s very impressive,” Parkinson said. When Wrexham visited the Union in 2023, the WSFS Bank Sportsplex was still under construction. Now, the Red Dragons are able to train at the Union’s brand-new facilities.
“Yesterday was good. The training ground is really good, the pitches are great, and I thought the lads trained really well yesterday. It’s always difficult moving from one location to another, but I felt the day went as well as we could expect.”
Wrexham midfielder George Dobson stepped aside to speak to media. A former Sunderland player, Sunday’s friendly could mean just a bit more for Dobson. “I’ve been to America before a couple of years ago, and I’d say that these are the best facilities that we’ve been to. We’re thankful for everyone in Philadelphia for having us.”
On Wrexham’s preseason tour, the Red Dragons have made stops in Tampa and New York before coming down to Chester. “It’s been tough with the head and the humidity, but it’s been really good, and we’ve had some enjoyable games. We knew it was going to be tough with the weather, but that’s how you get fit – we’ve really enjoyed it and had some good performances against good teams.”
Sunderland, on the other hand, are making their first ever trip to Philadelphia. An unexpectedly exciting team to watch, Sunderland are coming off a Premier League season in which they qualified for the Europa League just one year after earning promotion from the championship. Led by Régis Le Bris, Sunderland will bring a star-studded roster to Subaru Park including Brian Brobbey, Enzo Le Fée, and Wilson Isidor, who played for Haiti alongside Danley Jean Jacques in Philadelphia at the World Cup.
Check out a photo gallery from Saturday’s training at this link.
The match will kick off at Subaru Park on Sunday at noon. The last leg of the American preseason tour for both teams, Sunderland and Wrexham will return to the United Kingdom after the match.
