At the Meet the Owners event in September, the club confirmed arrangements were being considered for a pre-season tour of Thailand at the start of the 2018/19 season and that any such tour would include the opportunity for fans to travel as part of a package provided by the club.
Following extensive discussions with parties in Thailand, the club can confirm such a tour will not take place at the start of the 2018/19 season. Delays have meant that teams from Thailand have not been able to confirm the option of a friendly fixture until their own league matches have been confirmed, this therefore makes it difficult to plan an appropriate pre-season tour which bests benefit the first team. As our own fans have told us a 12 month payment window would lead to more supporters being able to follow the team on a pre-season tour, the club feel it is best to look to postpone the tour into 2019.
Andrew Whitham, head of commercial affairs at Club Doncaster, said: “Having spent lots of time researching the options and opportunities, for both the first team in terms of scheduled matches and training facilities and supporters with regards travel costs, activities that can be undertaken and payment schedules, we have opted to postpone the plan of a pre-season tour to Thailand in 2018.
“We are, however, continuing discussions with partners over a 2019 tour and these discussions will take place in the summer. Any such activity will be determined by two key factors: ensuring the preparation is right for the first team and that we can provide enough supporters the opportunity to travel by having longer payments plans. Supporters who are potentially interested in any pre-season tour in 2019 should email commercial@clubdoncaster.co.uk for information when available.”