Newport County will host AS Roma at Rodney Parade on Tuesday, 4 August, in a pre-season friendly that stands out immediately on the summer schedule. Roma are heading to Wales at the end of July for an eight-day training camp, and the trip also includes a friendly against Cardiff City on Saturday, 1 August.
Roma's Wales camp
BBC Sport reported that Newport County have confirmed a home pre-season friendly against Italian giants Roma. It is a notable occasion for Newport because the visitors are not just passing through for a single game, they are using Wales as part of their build-up to the 2026-27 season.
Roma finished third in Serie A and won 23 of their 38 league matches, which gives some sense of the level Newport are welcoming to Rodney Parade. They also arrive after winning their last five league games, so this is not a casual summer runout for a side easing into pre-season.
What it means for Newport County
For Newport County, the attraction is obvious. A League Two club getting a home date against a club of Roma's size turns a routine friendly into a proper event, and it should bring a different kind of attention to Rodney Parade before the league campaign starts.
The Cardiff fixture on 1 August means Roma will already have a game in Wales before they reach Newport, but the Exiles still get the headline slot. That makes the meeting on 4 August the clearest local marker in a camp that is otherwise built around Roma's own preparation.
It is the kind of summer fixture that Newport will want to sell hard, because it is rare for a club at this level to get a visit with this much recognition attached to it. Roma's presence is the story here, and Newport are the club giving it a stage.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →