City to face Palermo FC in pre-season fixture | OneFootball

Manchester City FC has today announced that it will face City Football Group (CFG) sister club Palermo FC in a pre-season friendly to contest the inaugural Anglo Palermitan Trophy.

The friendly match, taking place at the Renzo Barbera Stadium on Saturday 9 August, will provide Pep Guardiola’s side with vital minutes as they prepare for the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

Palermo became the eleventh member of CFG in 2022 and opened their own City Football Academy just two years later. The historic Sicilian club will become the fourth CFG side that the Manchester City men’s first team have faced on the pitch, following previous friendly matches with Melbourne City FC, Yokohama F. Marinos and Girona FC.

City have been invited to participate in a key milestone of anniversary celebrations for Palermo, who this season celebrate 125 years since their inception as the Anglo Palermitan Athletic & Football Club. The Anglo Palermitan Trophy commemorates the Sicilian club’s maiden fixture against a team of British sailors in 1900.

The contest also represents a home debut for Palermo’s new head coach and Italian World Cup winner Filippo Inzaghi, who will take charge of the team in front of the Rosanero fans at the Renzo Barbera for the first time.

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CFG Global Football Technical Director Riccardo Bigon expressed his excitement for this all-CFG fixture: “It is with great pride that we can announce this historic meeting between two CFG clubs.

“From a technical perspective, this game offers an important opportunity for players to continue their pre-season preparations, for both managers to implement their ideas and for the respective squads to gel together on the pitch.

“However, this match also carries the cultural significance of two monumental clubs facing each other for the first time in history, with a nod to Palermo’s heritage and English roots. This is a match-up that both sets of fanbases can be excited about watching.

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“The Anglo Palermitan Trophy is another example of the vast possibilities that being part of City Football Group can unlock. We are all looking forward to seeing how the last three years of collaboration and knowledge sharing play out on the pitch.”

Further information regarding ticketing and how fans can watch the action will follow in due course.