Newcastle United invite Serie A side for glamour friendly as pre-season plans fixed up The Magpies are hoping to play top notch Serie A opponents at St James' Park in August Comments Lee Ryder Chief Newcastle United Writer 06:45, 24 Apr 2026 View Image Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier and Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes are lifting the Sela Cup during the Sela Cup match between Newcastle United and Stade Brestois at St. James's Park in Newcastle, England, on August 10, 2024. (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Newcastle United's pre-season schedule is taking shape as the Magpies look to improve on summer attendances at St James' Park in recent years. Chronicle Live reported how the Magpies will not be venturing too far in the early part of pre-season after turning down offers to play in the United States and the Far East this summer. Having played in the Premier League Series in 2023 , United were invited to the States again in July but there are fears that the World Cup may have drained the US audience by then and games could be played in front of smaller crowds. Instead, Newcastle are going to be based in Spain in La Manga for a summer camp while other European friendlies are being looked at. Newcastle will also have a mini pre-season tournament at St James' Park and have lined up some top quality opponents for what has been advertised as the "Sela Weekend" or Sela Cup. Chronicle Live can reveal that Serie A side and the 2022 Europa Conference League winners AS Roma have been invited to play at St James' Park. On the same weekend, Newcastle's women's team are expected to face Inter Milan's women, with the two dates to be firmed up. United's commercial team were tasked with finding bigger-name opposition than some of the visitors that have played friendlies on Tyneside in recent years, after a series of flat friendly games at St James' Park failed to fully capture the imagination of the Geordie public. Newcastle pulled in 51,584 for games against Atletico Madrid and a clash against AC Milan's women's team for then coach Becky Langley. A lower crowd of 30,782 attended a 2-2 draw with Espanyol the night before last summer, while games against Girona and Stade Brest drew 31,958 and 33,760 respectively in 2024. What has been noted by Toon chiefs is getting a name of stature at St James' Park with Roma, Newcastle's former European adversaries, certain to whet the appetite for the new season, with Gian Piero Gasperini's side holding talks to play in the exhibition game in recent weeks. Newcastle clashed with Roma in 1999 during the Sir Bobby Robson era, with the great Francesco Totti the top star on show. It remains to be seen whether the competition will be called the Sela Cup or not this year. The front of shirt sponsorship deal with Sela is due to end this summer and while CEO David Hopkinson is looking for new deals, the Saudi company could stay on as partners moving forward. Newcastle's last visit to La Manga came in 2016 when Steve McClaren took the Magpies to the south of Spain for a mid-season training camp. The trip back then included a 2-1 win over Lillestrom on one of the FIFA-standard pitches at La Manga Club but what was supposed to be a morale boosting camp could not stop McClaren losing his job and Newcastle sinking into the Championship. McClaren was sacked after defeats to Stoke City and Bournemouth with Rafa Benitez's appointment not enough to save the doomed Magpies. Howe took his Bournemouth team to La Manga in 2019 too with the Cherries also suffering relegation in 2020. Get Chronicle Premium now for just £1 HERE – exclusive news and features, our NUFC and Academy notebooks, John Gibson's columns plus an ad-lite experience Article continues below Here at ChronicleLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Newcastle United coverage and analysis. Make sure you don't miss out on the latest NUFC news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories. And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Everything is Black and White podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts , and you can also watch along on YouTube .
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.chroniclelive.co.uk