Cardiff City

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Cardiff City have added a final pre-season fixture against Bristol Rovers, which will take place at the League One side's Memorial Stadium on Saturday, 3 August, with kick-off at 15:00 BST.

The fixture will have added spice after the two sides were drawn together in the first round of the Carabao Cup and will face each other again during the week commencing 12 August, with the Severnside derby being played at Cardiff City Stadium.

The first round is regionalised into northern and southern sections, with 38 teams in the northern half and 32 in the southern half.

Cardiff begin their pre-season programme on 10 July with a game against Kidderminster Harriers, which will be played at the Cardiff International Sports Campus, as will following friendlies against KV Kortrijk on 13 July and Penybont on 16 July.

The Bluebirds will then embark on a mini-tour to Austria from 19-26 July, with fixtures to be confirmed, before returning to face Reading at Cardiff City Stadium on 31 July.

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Cardiff City have revealed a new badge and home kit for the 2024-25 season.

As part of the club's 125th anniversary season, a singular Bluebird will be used as the club's official crest, in tribute to the one used between 1969 and 1980. It will be the first time since 2012 that a dragon has not featured as part of the design.

The new blue home shirt will feature a chevron pattern which adorned the crest of Riverside A.F.C, the club’s original name used between 1899 and 1908.

The Bluebirds will also play in traditional white shorts during the campaign.

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Cardiff City will host League One side Bristol Rovers in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The teams last played each other in the same competition in 2016, with Rovers winning 1-0. The Bluebirds last win against Rovers also came in the EFL Cup - a 3-1 victory in 2009.

You can see the full draw here.

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It is almost time for Cardiff fans to start plotting journeys up and down the UK's motorway network and try to work out how the Bluebirds can better last season's 12th-place finish in the Championship.

The road ahead for the 2024-25 English Football League (EFL) season will become clear when the fixtures are released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday.

The regular season will begin on the weekend of 10-11 August and run until 3 May, 2025.

The 46 rounds of games in the Championship will be played across 33 weekends, nine midweek programmes and four bank holidays.

Boss Erol Bulut will be hoping to improve on the start to last season, when City let slip a 2-0 lead at Leeds on the opening day, and had to wait until their fourth game of the campaign to record a League win.

Fans will no doubt hope for a better finish to 2024-25, too, than the heavy defeats against Middlesbrough and Rotherham that spoiled the end of last season.

Cardiff will be joined by relegated Premier League sides Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton along with promoted Portsmouth, Derby and Oxford.

The Wayne Rooney factor brings added intrigue - the England legend is back for his third spell managing in the EFL.

Rooney was appointed Plymouth Argyle boss after they narrowly avoided relegation last season and will hope to make a good start after his disastrous spell in charge of Birmingham City last season where he won just two of 15 matches - one of which came at Cardiff City Stadium in mid-December.

All fixtures will be on the BBC Sport website and app as soon as they are announced.

The draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup will be held at 11:30 BST on Thursday.

A new £935m five-year deal between the EFL and Sky Sports means that 1,059 EFL matches are set to be broadcast - four times more than now.

Click here for more info on what to look out for in the Championship next season.

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut has added former Watford coach Omer Riza to his coaching staff for the upcoming season.

Bulut signed a two-year deal to remain as Cardiff City manager, a month after their 2023-24 Championship season ended.

Riza, a former striker, has spent the past six years as a coach at Vicarage Road having been involved in the academy from 2018 to 2023.

The Bluebirds have agreed deals to retain Nikolaos Karydas and Tom Ramasut as well as goalkeeping coach Mario Galinovic, but assistant coach Nadir Sonmez has departed the Cardiff City Stadium after one season.

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Cardiff City have confirmed their pre-season plans as they prepare for the 2024/25 Championship season.

Cardiff will play three games in the Welsh capital before embarking on a tour to Austria.

The Bluebirds will host Reading at the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday, 31 July in their final home friendly.

Erol Bulut’s side begin their pre-season against Kidderminster Harriers on Wednesday, 10 July before games with K.V Kortrijk on Saturday, 13 July and Penybont on Tuesday, 16 July with all three games scheduled for the Cardiff International Sports Campus.

Cardiff pre-season fixtures:

Cardiff City vs. Kidderminster Harriers, Cardiff International Sports Campus, Wednesday 10th July, 19:30 BST

Cardiff City vs. K.V. Kortrijk, Cardiff International Sports Campus, Saturday 13th July, 12:00 BST

Cardiff City v Penybont FC, Cardiff International Sports Campus, Tuesday 16th July, 19:30 BST.

Cardiff City vs. Reading, Cardiff City Stadium, Wednesday 31st July, 19:30 BST.

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Former Cardiff City striker Ross McCormack believes there is more to come from Scotland at Euro 2024.

Steve Clarke’s side responded to their thrashing by Germany in the tournament’s opening game by drawing 1-1 with Switzerland on Wednesday night.

McCormack, winner of 13 Scotland caps, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that Clarke’s men can improve again in their final group match against Hungary on Sunday.

“Last night was a lot better than Friday night, as the result suggests,” McCormack said.

“But I still think there’s more to come from this team, from what I have seen in the qualifying campaign.

“I am hoping they can put on an even better show on Sunday night and go into the knockout stages.”

McCormack, 37, scored 30 goals for Cardiff between 2008 and 2010 and was a popular figure with Bluebirds fans.

He also played for the likes of Rangers, Leeds United, Fulham and Aston Villa.

McCormack says Hungary “looked a decent outfit” during their 2-0 defeat by Germany on Wednesday, but is optimistic about Scotland’s prospects.

"If Scotland turn up and play to their potential, there’s no reason why they can’t get the three points," he added.

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Cardiff City have begun their recruitment planning for the season ahead after securing the future of manager Erol Bulut.

Bulut signed a two-year deal to remain as Cardiff City manager, a month after their 2023-24 Championship season ended.

Bulut's previous contract had been set to expire this summer after he took charge at Cardiff on a one-year agreement in June 2023.

Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman, Bulut and the rest of Cardiff’s transfer committee had a meeting earlier this week to discuss potential recruitment plans.

Bulut is expected to return to Cardiff next week as the Bluebirds look to step up an overhaul of their squad.

In addition to incomings, Bulut has previously suggested he expects Premier League interest in defender Perry Ng and forward Rubin Colwill.

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Manager Erol Bulut says his goal is to manage in the Premier League and he hopes to do it with Cardiff City.

After finally ending speculation about his future by singing a new two-year deal to stay with the Bluebirds, Bulut has now revealed his lofty ambitions.

Speaking to SportBox, Bulut said: "To be honest, my goal is to become a manager in the Premier League and lead our team to success there.

"I hope I can achieve this with Cardiff this season.

"In the coming years, I can coach in the top league of the world with Cardiff and achieve more success.

"As I have always said, my goal has always been the highest level. Will I succeed? We will see it together."

Bulut took over last summer, finishing in 12th place in the Championship in his first season.

That was a big improvement on the relegation battles Cardiff had faced in their previous two campaigns.

But in the SportBox interview, Bulut also revealed some of the problems he faced when first taking over in south Wales.

"There was such an environment that when I started at Cardiff," he added, "our own players didn't want to renew their contract.

"There was such a troubled situation in the club that nobody wanted to renew the contract.

"We went to the [pre-season] camp in Portugal, we created a good atmosphere in the camp, there was a good atmosphere.

"The goal was to stay in the league at the beginning of the season.

"Suddenly the mood was 'Will we be a play-off team, will we make it to the Premier League?'

"We created such a situation. I hope we can build on it this year, too. If we make good transfers, we want to push for the play-offs."

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Cardiff City are expected to step up their drive for new players next week.

It has been a slow summer so far for the Bluebirds, dominated by the long wait for manager Erol Bulut to agree a new contract.

Fans and pundits have expressed concern that the delay would leave Cardiff lagging behind Championship rivals in their recruitment drive for next season.

It is believed Bulut is still on holiday at the moment, but when he returns he will sit down early next week with Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman and chief executive Ken Choo to discuss transfer targets.

Bulut is likely to want several new players this summer, with at least one striker top of his list of priorities - no-one in the Bluebirds squad scored more than six goals in the Championship last season.

A defender or two is also likely to be on Bulut's shopping list as he looks to tighten things up at the back, too - only three other clubs conceded more goals than Cardiff (70, jointly with Plymouth Argyle) last season.

One player who has signed on for next season is third-choice goalkeeper Matthew Turner. The 22-year-old has signed a new two-year contract through until 2026.

Turner joined City in 2021 and has often been involved in first-team squads, working alongside fellow goalkeepers Ethan Horvath and Jak Alnwick last term.

Cardiff City famously reached the semi-finals of the 1967-68 European Cup Winners' Cup, eventually exiting the competition at the hands of Hamburg.

But the squad were welcomed home as heroes on their return to the Welsh capital after reaching the last four courtesy of quarter-final victory over Torpedo Moscow.

In this footage from the BBC archive, manager Jimmy Scoular and goalscorer Norman Dean gave their reaction to the result and the prospect of facing Hamburg.

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A former Cardiff City goalkeeper has received a surprise call-up to this summer's European Championships.

But he won't be making a shock appearance in Germany after being invited into England's camp as a training keeper.

Tom Heaton played 64 times for the Bluebirds across two spells under Dave Jones and Malky Mackay - including featuring in the 2013 League Cup final.

Now 38, the Manchester United three-cap international has linked up with the Three Lions to help support Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale and Dean Henderson during the tournament.

Heaton was a popular player during his Cardiff days having first arrived at Ninian Park on loan from United in 2008 to rival Peter Enckleman.

He then returned the following season, signing on a free transfer to battle for the Cardiff number one shirt with David Marshall, the former Scotland stopper who announced his retirement on Monday.

Heaton played his part in the club's history by making saves in the Bluebirds' League Cup semi-final penalty shootout victory over Crystal Palace, also saving from Steven Gerrard against Liverpool in the final before the Reds ultimately lifted the trophy.

Heaton then moved to Bristol City, Burnley and Aston Villa before returning to Manchester United, being included in England's Euro 2016 squad along the way.

He is now back in the England camp, under the watchful eye of another former Cardiff goalkeeper, Martyn Margetson, who serves as Gareth Southgate's keeper coach alongside his duties at Swansea City.

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Former Cardiff City goalkeeper David Marshall has retired at the age of 39.

He made 278 appearances for the Bluebirds, keeping 87 clean sheets and helping the Welsh club win the Championship title in 2012-13.

Marshall, who was signed by then boss Dave Jones from Norwich City in 2009, also impressed at Premier League level even though Cardiff’s top-flight stay only lasted one season.

The Scotland international was eventually sold to Hull City in 2016.

Cardiff described Marshall as one of their "all-time greats” on social media.

He also had stints at Celtic, Wigan Athletic, Derby County and Queens Park Rangers before returning home to Scotland in 2022 when he joined Hibernian.

Marshall is to stay on at Hibs as technical performance director under sporting director Malky Mackay, his one-time boss at Cardiff City Stadium.

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No news is not good news when it comes to the transfer market and football fans.

It has been a slow summer so far at Cardiff City, with the long wait for manager Erol Bulut to agree a new contract dominating the agenda in the first month of the close season.

Now, with Bulut’s new contract sorted, Bluebirds supporters are left waiting to hear about summer transfer business.

After all, there are a number of vacancies to be filled in Bulut’s squad.

With the start of pre-season training beginning to appear on the horizon, there is little sign yet of new faces arriving at the Cardiff City Stadium.

But it is not as if Cardiff are the only club in this situation.

In fact, the Championship transfer market has been remarkably quiet this summer.

You can almost count on one hand the number of done deals so far in the second tier.

With the transfer window officially opening later this week, perhaps a few more deals will start to materialise.

But many more will not happen until pre-season, while there will be the inevitable late rush before the window closes at the end of August.