Hapoel Tel Aviv will depart on Monday for its preseason training camp, which this year will take place in a town near Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The camp will be an important part of the team’s preparations for the 2026/27 season.

During the camp, Hapoel will play three friendly matches. The first will be against Czech side FC Zlín (Wednesday, July 8, 10:00 a.m. Israel time), followed by two matches against Slovak opponents: DAC Dunajská Streda (Saturday, July 11, 5:00 p.m. Israel time) and Dukla Banská Bystrica (Tuesday, July 14, 3:00 p.m. Israel time). All three matches will be broadcast live on the Sport One channels.

The team will stay at the Slovak Football Association’s national training center, which serves the country’s senior men’s, youth and women’s national teams. The complex is located in the town of Senec, about 25 kilometers east of Bratislava. It provides the players and coaching staff with a peaceful setting and features top-quality training pitches, recovery and treatment facilities, modern gyms and meeting rooms.

Head Coach Elyaniv Barda’s squad includes:

Goalkeepers: Assaf Tzur, Shon Ben Nesher, Roy Baranes
Defenders: Fernand Mayembo, Chico, Doron Leidner, Marcus Coco, Shahar Piven, Tal Archel, Or Israelof, Ofer Gelbard.
Midfielders: Falcao, Andrian Kraev, Roei Alkukin, Amit Lemkin, Yonatan Ferber, El Yam Kancepolski, Itay Shavit.
Forwards: Stav Turiel, Omri Altman, Emmanuel Boateng, Xande Silva, Roy Korine, Daniel Dappa, Mor Buskila, Omri Levy, Ravid Ulitsky.

As for the Reds’ opponents at training camp, FC Zlín was founded in 1919 in the city of Zlín, Czech Republic. During the 2025/26 season, the club competed in the Czech top flight and finished 12th in the league. The club’s greatest achievements include winning the Czech Cup in the 2016/17 season and the Czech-Slovak Super Cup in 2017. The squad is made up primarily of Czech players.

DAC Dunajská Streda was founded in 1904 and competes in the Slovak top division. The club finished second in the 2025/26 season, ending the campaign as runners-up in Slovakia. The squad features an international mix of players, including a Brazilian goalkeeper and players from Ghana, Syria, Gabon, Togo and several other countries. The final foe will be Dukla Banská Bystrica which was founded in 1965. The club has won two domestic cup titles in its history. It finished first in the Slovak second division in the 2025/26 season, earning promotion back to the top flight.

This will be the first time in the club’s history that Hapoel holds a preseason training camp in Slovakia, and the first time it faces Slovak opposition in a friendly match. Hapoel has faced Czech opposition only once in a preseason camp before, during preparations for the 2007/08 season, when it played Sigma Olomouc in a match that ended 0–0.

In official competitions, Hapoel has met Czech clubs on several occasions. The first came on December 13, 2006, when Hapoel hosted Mladá Boleslav at Bloomfield Stadium in the fourth round of the UEFA Cup group stage. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Elyaniv Barda giving Hapoel the lead in the 27th minute. During the 2008/09 season, Hapoel met Teplice in a two-legged UEFA Europa League playoff. The first leg in the Czech Republic ended in a dramatic 2–1 victory for Hapoel thanks to a 94th-minute winner. A week later, the return leg at Bloomfield finished 1–1, with Dedi Ben Dayan scoring a dramatic 91st-minute equalizer to send Hapoel through.

Lastly, in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League group stage, Hapoel faced Viktoria Plzeň twice. At Bloomfield Stadium, the Czech side won 2–1 after Hapoel had taken the lead through Hanan Maman in the 19th minute. In the return match in the Czech Republic, Hapoel suffered one of the heaviest European defeats in its history, losing 4–0 to Viktoria Plzeň.