As one season ends, another begins, and while UEFA EURO 2024 is just around the corner for Germany and the city of Frankfurt, Eintracht are already focused on their 2024/25 campaign. In just under a month, on 8 and 9 July, head coach Dino Toppmöller and his staff will be holding two-day performance tests. Then on the following day (10 July), the team will have its first pre-season training session.
For the core part of this year’s pre-season preparations, the Eagles will head to the United States, for the first time since January 2020. Their base during the Eintracht Americas Tour will be Louisville, on the Ohio River in Kentucky – the Blue Grass State, whose capital Frankfort is the midpoint between the Mid-West and the South of the USA. Eintracht will set off across the Atlantic on Monday 22 July.
Training at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center
Training will get underway the following day in Louisville, birthplace of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. The squad will train at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center, which is home to the Louisville City and Racing Louisville men’s and women’s professional teams.
This state-of-the-art, centrally located sports centre includes a number of grass pitches, a gym, a media and video room, a cafeteria and specially designed changing rooms for each of the clubs that play there. Eintracht’s training camp in the USA is supported by Louisville Tourism.
“Louisville is delighted to welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the ‘Bourbon City’,” said Cleo Battle, president and CEO of Louisville Tourism. “We are looking forward to introducing our community to Eintracht and inviting fans to experience the attractions that our city has to offer, either when they are attending the training camp or visiting the USA or the state of Kentucky in the near future.”
Louisville Tourism
Louisville, the largest city in the state of Kentucky, is known in the USA as the ‘Gateway to the South' and has a population of 632,000 in its metropolitan region. It is the birthplace of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, and fans can enjoy the ‘Footsteps of Greatness’ tour, which takes visitors through various stages of his life. Old Louisville – the largest Victorian-era district in the USA – offers a variety of culinary delights including a whole host of regional classics, while the Urban Bourbon Trail is guaranteed to “lift the spirits”. Visitors can also relax in Central Park or take a trip back in time on the Belle of Louisville steamboat. Sports fans know the city on the Ohio River as the home of the famous Kentucky Derby horse race, as well as the town from which the ‘Louisville Slugger’ baseball bat originated. A visit to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, to see where the bats used by so many of the pros in Major League Baseball are carved out, should be included on the itinerary of all visitors. Football fans meanwhile are spoilt for choice, with Louisville City playing in the USL Championship and Racing Louisville in the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League).
“We’re an entirely different type of Southern,” is Louisville Tourism’s tagline, and the city certainly lives up to that motto.
Friendlies against Louisville City and Juárez
Eintracht will face USL Championship outfit Louisville City on Tuesday 30 July, at the 15,300-seater Lynn Family Stadium (kick-off: 20:00 local time). This is one of two friendlies that the Bundesliga team will play during their USA trip. LouCity, under the guidance of 34-year-old American head coach Danny Cruz, are well into their 2024 season and currently sit atop the Eastern Conference after 13 matches.
Before the Eagles face their hosts, they will play Mexican first-division side Juárez on Thursday 25 July (19:30 local time) in Ciudad de Juárez, in the north of Mexico, at the Estadio Olimpico Benito Juaréz (capacity: 22,300). Los Bravos finished 12th in the Liga MX Clausura this season, which was played between January and April 2024. In the Liga MX Apertura, which ran from July to November 2023, Brazilian head coach Mauricio Barbieri’s team finished 15th. In between the two friendlies, head coach Dino Toppmöller’s squad will train at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center in Louisville.
Eintracht in New York City
The match versus Louisville City will bring Eintracht’s stay in Kentucky to an end, with the Eagles then heading to New York on 31 July. The club has a significant following in the Big Apple, with EFC New York being the largest official US fan club in the city that never sleeps. The club from the banks of the Main also has a presence in Manhattan, with an office opened there in 2020.
Eintracht’s relationship with New York stretches back to 1951 and the Goodwill Tour, which saw eight matches – three of them in New York, as well as one in neighbouring New Jersey – played over 25 days in a number of states to help finance the club’s infrastructure at the Riederwald site.
The Frankfurt squad will head home on 2 August.
FAQ about the Frankfurt Americas Tour
What is the programme for the trip?
Eintracht will head to Louisville, Kentucky on Monday 22 July. Training will be held at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center. On 25 July, head coach Dino Toppmöller’s team will play a friendly in Ciudad de Juárez, in northern Mexico, against FC Juárez (kick-off at the Estadio Olimpico Benito at 19:30 local time). On their return to Louisville, the team will continue to train for the next few days, before facing local team Louisville City on 30 July at the Lynn Family Stadium (kick-off: 20:00 local time). The squad will leave Louisville on 31 July and head to New York, before returning to Frankfurt on 2 August.
Why are Eintracht Frankfurt travelling to the USA?
Eintracht and the USA have a long-standing history, beginning with the 1951 Goodwill Tour. Between 2017, the Eagles held four training camps in the USA, and a total of 12 official Eintracht fan clubs have been established across the length and breadth of the country. Eintracht can expect ideal conditions in both Louisville, Kentucky and in New York. Trips such as the Eintracht Americas Tour 2024 give the club the opportunity to increase the visibility of the Eintracht Frankfurt brand in highly significant markets such as the US, and allow opportunities to gather deeper insights into that market. Eintracht worked on the forthcoming trip in close collaboration with the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, which is constantly looking to increase the visibility of the Bundesliga and its clubs in the USA and Latin America, as part of its international marketing strategy.
Where are Eintracht training in Louisville?
The squad will train at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center, home of the respective women’s and men’s professional teams of Louisville City and Racing Louisville. This state-of-the-art, centrally located facility offers ideal conditions for the club to prepare for the 2024/25 season.
Will any training sessions be open to the public?
Eintracht Frankfurt will provide separate information about public training sessions. The contact person for fans on site is Marc Francis. There are three WhatsApp groups for Louisville, Juárez and New York City. Simply send a message to +49 160 90589345 and become part of the community.
In general, it's always worth checking the Eintracht channels regularly to stay up to date until the return trip on August 2.
History: Eintracht and the USA
From Austin, Buffalo and Columbus via Milwaukee and New York City to San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, the Eagles have left their mark on so many US cities over the years. The relationship began in the 1950s and is still going strong today. For a more in-depth look at the history of the club in the USA, click here.
What is the weather like in Louisville?
The average temperature in Louisville, Kentucky in July is between 21 and 32 degrees Celsius.
When and where will tickets go on sale for the friendlies?
- Tickets Juárez: Click here
- Tickets Louisville: Click here
What leisure activities are there in Louisville?
Louisville is the gateway to the south of the USA. It is the birthplace of boxing legend Muhammad Ali and the largest city in the state of Kentucky. The ‘Bourbon City’, as it is known, has such attractions as the ‘Footsteps of Greatness’ tour focusing on Ali, Central Park, a trip back in time on the Belle of Louisville riverboat and plenty of restaurants and bars, as well as the Urban Bourbon Trail. For sports and in particular baseball fans, there is also the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, while Old Louisville is the largest Victorian-era district in the USA. For all you need to know about visiting this picturesque city on the Ohio River, check out the Louisville Tourism website: https://www.gotolouisville.com
Will the friendlies be broadcast live?
Yes, EintrachtTV and Sky Sport Bundesliga will be showing both matches live. In the US: Fox Deportes; in Latin America: Fox Sports Mexico.
What are the conditions of entry into the USA?
According to the German Foreign Office website: “As participants in the US visa waiver programme, German citizens can travel to the USA for tourism, business or transit purposes without a visa, insofar as they have a valid electronic travel document (e-passport with a chip), a valid electronic entry permit (ESTA) and a valid return or onward flight ticket”. You are advised to submit your ESTA application at least 72 hours before travel. The ESTA application costs 21 US dollars. Please get all the information you need regarding ESTA procedures as well as any possible exceptions and entry conditions in advance.
What do I need to know about travel to Mexico?
Take your passport with you. German citizens do not need a visa on entry for tourist purposes. According to the German Foreign Office: “Travellers who enter Mexico by land need to obtain an electronic tourist card or an entry permit from a German Migration Institute (INM) office, even if these documents may not specifically be required by the Mexican authorities (…) The card will be stamped upon crossing the border with a period of validity. The traveller must carry their copy of the tourist card with them at all times and present it upon leaving Mexico.“ Travellers who enter by air no longer require a tourist card. Please get all the information you need regarding possible exceptions and entry conditions in advance.
The FAQ section will be continually updated.
