AEK heads to the Netherlands for pre‑season camp and Champions League playoff preparations

Greek club AEK will travel to Apeldoorn in the Netherlands on 6 July for the main stage of its pre‑season training, which runs until 2 August. The squad listed for the trip comprises 29 players, including five goalkeepers, while midfielder Orbelín Pinzón remains in Mexico for the 2026 World Cup and new signings Kaarn Kaïrinén and Christos Alexiou are expected to join once their transfers are completed.

During the Dutch stay AEK will play six friendly matches: against De Graafschap (12 July), Feyenoord (15 July), Groningen (18 July), Zwolle (26 July), Samsunspor (29 July) and Sunderland (2 August). After returning, the club will learn its opponent for the Champions League playoffs on 3 August, with the ties scheduled for 18–19 August and a return leg a week later. An analytics platform projects an 80 % chance that AEK will be drawn into the “strong” group of the playoff draw, the highest probability among clubs currently outside the elite tier.