Pre-season preparations will intensify over the next week as York United FC face a pair of LigaMX heavyweights during their upcoming camp in Monterrey, Mexico.

With the new Canadian Premier League campaign getting underway in just four weeks' time, The Nine Stripes will take on some elite opposition during their stint down south.

On Friday, March 22nd, The Nine Stripes will cross swords with Tigres UANL before another clash with CF Monterrey two days later.

"It's a great opportunity to get the team together," says Head Coach Martin Nash.

"It's great to concentrate on just the team, it's a secluded place and we've got two fantastic games lined up. We'll have our training, as usual, but then for the rest of the day it's one-on-one meetings with players, in groups. You can do a lot more and accomplish a lot more when you're away. The players are excited. It's been a long five weeks for them already so they're glad to get away, break the monotony and recharge a little bit."

"It will be a very good challenge," says Ricardo Pasquel, the club's General Manager/President.

"We chose these dates specifically because it's the international break and that means some first-team players from Tigres and Rayados will be involved. Standards will be high."

York United have already racked up four pre-season friendlies to date.

The side secured three victories against Club de Soccer Saint-Laurent, Vaughan Azzurri and Toronto FC II while they played out a 1-1 draw with Forge FC last weekend.

The CPL season begins for the team on Saturday, April 13th with a road game against Atletico Ottawa before the 2024 home opener on Sunday, April 21st against derby rivals Forge FC at York Lions Stadium.