OGC Nice has set the first stages of summer preparation before the start of the 2026-2027 Ligue 1 season. Return to training, first friendly match against Nîmes, trip to Sardinia against Cagliari and start of the championship against Lorient: the first dates are now known.
OGC Nice’s summer preparation will begin on July 8. Players will return to the training center a month and a half before the launch of the Ligue 1 season, scheduled for the weekend of August 21, 22 and 23 with the reception of FC Lorient at the Allianz Riviera. This match will be played behind closed doors due to incidents that occurred on the last day of the previous championship.
The first preparation match will take place on July 18. Olivier Pantaloni’s men will face Nîmes Olympique at the Gym training center. The match will begin at 6 p.m. and will also be played behind closed doors.
A second fixture is already on the calendar. On August 8, OGC Nice will travel to Sardinia to participate in the second edition of the Trofeo Gigi Riva. The Eagles will face Cagliari, a Serie A team, at 8:30 p.m.
Olivier Pantaloni’s first matches
This preparation will mark the debut of Olivier Pantaloni on the Nice bench. Arriving recently from FC Lorient, the new coach succeeds Claude Puel and will lead his first official preparation matches during the summer.
The rest of the program is still being finalized. Other friendly matches should be announced in the coming weeks.
The dates already confirmed:
- July 8: return to training;
- July 18: OGC Nice – Nîmes Olympique (6 p.m., training center, behind closed doors);
- August 8: Cagliari – OGC Nice (8:30 p.m.);
- August 21, 22 or 23: OGC Nice – FC Lorient, first day of Ligue 1.
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