Pre-season, training camp, transfers—Rot-Weiss Essen has important items on the agenda during the short winter break. Here’s an overview.
Rot-Weiss Essen’s success story began in January 2025 in Lara, Turkey, near Antalya. For six days, RWE prepared there, accompanied by nearly 200 Essen fans, for the mission to avoid relegation. The team was able to carry the positive atmosphere and ideal conditions back into their daily routine. The club from the Ruhr region turned things around; Essen confidently celebrated avoiding relegation, and now the fans can even dream of promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.
What worked so well a year ago doesn’t need to be changed. In January 2026, Rot-Weiss Essen and its fans are once again expected at the five-star “Concorde de Luxe Resort”—this time, Essen arrives as a promotion contender. Preparation for the 3. Liga is short; as early as January 17 (2 p.m.), RWE will kick off the second half of the season with an away match at TSV 1860 Munich. Find out here in this overview what lies ahead for head coach Uwe Koschinat’s team until then.
Start of training:
On January 3, the Essen pros must report to their employer for the first time after a nearly two-week break. Then the players will undergo the mandatory performance diagnostics. One day later (January 4), Coach Koschinat will invite his team to a public session at the training ground on Hafenstraße. After that, it should be finalized which squad Rot-Weiss Essen will take to Turkey.
Training camp:
“The winter training camp in January of this year really impressed all of us and set the tone for our sporting success in the second half of the season,” said RWE board member Alexander Rang a few months ago regarding the partnership with tour operator “tssFC.” Lara near Antalya will also be the Essen team’s destination for the next two years. The three-year partnership also includes a sponsorship agreement. A smart deal for the club. This will enable the first team to prepare for the second half of the season under professional conditions without incurring high financial costs.
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“The partnership, including the sponsorship agreement, is an important decision for Rot-Weiss Essen not only from a sporting perspective but also economically and strategically,” explained Rang. “We’re looking forward to being back in Lara in January 2026. The conditions there are ideal and will once again help us prepare optimally for the second half of the season. We’re also very much looking forward to spending a week with our fans. This stay will bring the team and supporters even closer together.”
RWE will be guests in Lara from January 5 to 11. At least 200 fans will be there this time as well. On the penultimate day of the training camp (January 10), the club has scheduled a friendly match against a German second-division team. The club will release details shortly.
Transfers:
The dominant theme of the winter break will once again be the search for new players on the transfer market. In the winter of 2025, five new players (including Marek Janssen) were signed, so the need for action isn’t as great this time around. However, the club, in the person of CEO Marc-Nicolai Pfeifer, has announced its intention to be active.
Two to three new signings are possible. RWE aims to strengthen its attack. The club is on the lookout for a playmaker and a winger. Depending on availability, it’s also possible that a center forward and a center back could end up on RWE’s radar. Ideally, the new players will be signed before the trip to Turkey. After the Christmas holidays, transfer activity could thus pick up speed.
It is also possible that players who no longer play a major role will leave the club in the winter. Nils Kaiser is already in talks with Schweinfurt 05 about a transfer, and transfer disappointment Luca Bazzoli has attracted the interest of SSV Ulm.