Wolves’ pre-season fixture against SC Heerenveen, scheduled for Saturday 1st August, has been cancelled and replaced with a match against Racing Santander at Molineux.
The decision follows discussions with SC Heerenveen and the local authorities in the Netherlands regarding the travel arrangements that would have been required for Wolves supporters attending the fixture.
While the club appreciates the efforts made by SC Heerenveen throughout the planning process, the travel and ticket restrictions imposed by the local authorities would have required a maximum of 650 Wolves supporters to travel together via organised coaches departing from Amsterdam, regardless of where they were staying in the country, with very limited flexibility for supporters making their own way to the stadium.
Supporter safety is paramount to the club, and the enforced travel arrangements do not align with the club’s preferred approach to supporter travel, safety oversight and operational control, and therefore the club did not feel it was appropriate to agree such stringent control.
Following careful consideration, Wolves did not feel it was right to proceed with the fixture in the knowledge that supporters would face such significant restrictions in order to attend the match.
Instead, Wolves will now face Spanish side Racing Santander at Molineux on Saturday 1st August, with kick-off at 5pm. Santander lifted the La Liga 2 title in May and are preparing for life in the top tier of Spanish football this coming season.
Director of football operations Matt Wild said: “We know many supporters were looking forward to travelling to the Netherlands to support the team and we’re naturally disappointed that this fixture can no longer go ahead.
“Throughout the process, SC Heerenveen have been accommodating and understanding, and we’d like to thank them for their cooperation. Unfortunately, the travel arrangements required by the local authorities meant our supporters would have faced significant restrictions which we didn’t feel were reasonable.
“Our supporters follow the club brilliantly home and away, and we couldn’t ask them to make a journey under those conditions. While we’re disappointed, we believe replacing the fixture with a home match against strong opposition in Racing Santander is the right solution and will provide an excellent final test ahead of the new Championship season.”
Supporters who have already booked non-refundable travel or accommodation in relation to the trip to the Netherlands are encouraged to contact Fan Services to discuss their individual circumstances.
The Santander fixture is a rematch of the pre-season International Colonial Exhibition tie which took place between the two clubs in Paris in June 1931.
Ticket information for the 2026 Santander fixture, which comes one week before Wolves kick off their season with a Carabao Cup tie against Port Vale, will be communicated to supporters in due course.
