“🔥𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 – 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬?”

🔥𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 – 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫 & 𝐅𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐳𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝

Brighton’s pre-season has taken a sharp turn from the club’s recent jet-setting tours, with fans left largely in the dark until now. Instead of playing in packed stadiums overseas, the Seagulls have kept things tightly under wraps, limiting fan access to just one home fixture at the Amex against Wolfsburg on August 9.

Brighton kicked off their low-profile preparations with a private 10-day training camp in Spain, securing closed-door wins against Stoke City and Las Palmas, after an earlier hidden fixture against Wycombe Wanderers. On their return, they added another secretive win against Coventry City, managed by Frank Lampard. Each match? Closed to the public.

For fans eager to see their team before the Premier League opener vs Fulham on August 16, the only public friendly will be against Southampton at St Mary’s this Saturday.

So why the secrecy?

Albion CEO Paul Barber explained on the official BHA Podcast that this season’s approach was intentional:

“Sometimes it’s good for players and staff to work without the scrutiny of cameras and social media… No commercial tour meant we could prioritise preparation and privacy. Public access changes security needs and adds to the cost it’s less convenient for everyone involved.”


While Brighton went big in previous years with headline-grabbing trips to Japan and the US, this summer’s quieter tone was also influenced by new head coach Fabian Hurzeler. The young German wanted total control over the structure and intensity of pre-season.

“I try to control, honestly, everything,” Hurzeler revealed. “The timing, number of games, quality of opposition this time, I had far more input than ever before.”


Still, Barber reassured fans this won’t be the norm:

“This year was private, but we’ll likely return to public-facing tours in the future.”


With the team working behind closed doors and fan excitement building, all eyes are now on that Amex clash with Wolfsburg as the first and only chance to assess the Seagulls in action before the big kick-off.