The preparation schedule is filling up, second-division soccer team FC Schalke 04 will play against third-division team SC Verl.

The European Football Championship is underway, with the first match kicking off in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday (Serbia – England, 9pm).

The FC Schalke 04 professionals are just watching, their preparation will begin on June 24 with the medical examination. And the preparation plan is taking shape. Another test match has now been scheduled for Thursday, July 18. Schalke will then play SC Verl at 6.30 pm. The third division club finished twelfth last season. Tickets for the match in the Verler Sportclub-Arena will go on sale in the coming days.

The test matches against SSVg Velbert (Wednesday, July 3, 6 p.m.) and Twente Enschede (Wednesday, July 24, 6:30 p.m.) have already been scheduled. The match against Velbert will take place in Ratingen because of the European Championship, as the Georgian national team has moved into its European Championship quarters in Velbert.

Ticket requests have been open since yesterday (Friday) and tickets are also available at official ticket agencies. The price? Seated tickets for the main and opposing stands cost 22 euros, standing tickets for the north and south curves are available for 13.20 euros.

The match against Twente Enschede will then be played in Marl. The reason for this unusual venue is that the Schalke Arena is rented out to concert organizers. The test match between Schalke and Twente falls exactly between the three concerts by US superstar Taylor Swift (July 17 to 19) and the five performances by Rammstein (between July 26 and 31). Because extensive stage construction work will take place in the arena before the Rammstein concert, the stadium will not be available for soccer matches during this period. However, the VfB Hüls stadium in Marl will only be able to accommodate around 3,000 spectators.

The training camp in Mittersill will begin just under a week after the first test match. The Schalke team will be in Austria from July 8 to 14. Once again this year, hundreds of Gelsenkirchen fans are expected in the Hohe Tauern National Park vacation region. There will be a varied program and many public training sessions for the Schalke players. Two further test matches are also planned in Austria. However, opponents and venues have not yet been determined.