United announce pre-season friendlies
Manchester United's men’s and women's teams will take on two Norwegian sides in pre-season friendlies.
The first match will see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Reds take on his hometown side, Kristiansund, on 30 July at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo.
The following day, 31 July, the newly promoted United Women’s team will face Valerenga at the Intility Arena, also in the Norwegian capital.
Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward comments: "These two friendlies will be part of what is set to be a great pre-season for both the men’s and women’s teams. The club has always had a strong following in Norway, with our Scandinavian supporters' club being one of the biggest and most active fan groups.
“It is a pleasure to be playing against Ole’s hometown team and we are sure there will be great support for this game.
“This will also be an excellent preparation for the women’s team with Casey and her squad building on their promotion success in readiness for the season to come.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer comments: "I am delighted we are playing a match against Kristiansund BK, they are from my hometown in Norway, which is an added bonus for me. We have a massive following in Scandinavia and it’s great that I meet United supporters wherever I go in Norway.
“This match will be really important in terms of our preparation for the new season. We want to hit the ground running and give ourselves a chance to challenge once the new campaign starts and the best way to do that is with some momentum behind you.”
Casey Stoney comments: “We can’t wait, it’s a fantastic city and it will be a great game. It will be a good test for us to build into the new season. We are really thankful that they have invited us over to play in this game.
"It’s a really important part of pre-season, we don’t know who we will face in the first fixture of the new season yet but, to play top players and a top team, will give any new players a chance to bed into the team. We can see where we’re at and what we need to work on for the new season coming up."
Tickets for Valerenga v Manchester United Women go on sale from 08:00 (BST) on Friday 24 May via www.ticketmaster.no/event/610509.
Tickets for Kristiansund v Manchester United go on sale from 08:00 (BST) on Monday 27 May via www.ticketmaster.no/event/606605.
Both matches are set to be screened live on MUTV.
Reading this in our app? If not, you might miss some exclusive features not found on ManUtd.com. Download the Official App here.