Schalke 04 will not be traveling to a winter training camp in 2026. All preparations will be made in Gelsenkirchen. The reasons.

One day after the German Football League finalized the schedule for the second division until the end of January, FC Schalke 04 also released further information about its winter plans. One thing is now certain: there will be no trip to a training camp in January.

Instead of preparing for the second half of the season in southern Europe, the Royal Blues will remain in Gelsenkirchen – despite potentially difficult training conditions in early January due to the cold weather in Germany. Muslic justified the decision against a training camp with the tight schedule.

Before Christmas, Schalke will play Eintracht Braunschweig on December 21. On January 17, the Royal Blues will then start the second half of the season with an away game at Hertha BSC. After a short break over the holidays, Schalke will therefore only have around two weeks to prepare for the second half of the season. A training camp trip would mean losing two potential training days for travel to and from the location. “I believe we have optimal conditions here too,” says coach Muslic.

The truth is that the decision not to hold a training camp also saves Schalke a lot of money. Because there is no longer an airline partnership, both flights and hotels for the team and staff would have to be paid for themselves – in total, a training camp can quickly cost a six-figure sum. In recent years, Schalke have always been accompanied to training camp by several hundred supporters. In 2022, there was no winter training camp due to COVID-19. In 2023 and 2025, Schalke were in Belek, Turkey, near Antalya, and in 2024, the Royal Blues went to Albufeira, Portugal.