John McGreal’s side enjoyed a very successful first season as a Category One academy, with an excellent inaugural campaign in the Premier League 2.
They spent time as league leaders for long spells, but ended up finishing fifth in the table to qualify for the play-offs, where they were beaten by Brighton at the round-of-16 stage.
Let’s take a look at who they will face in pre-season so far…
Opponent: Cambridge City
Date: Friday 17th July
The young Blues will face The Lilywhites at their Sawston Community Stadium, with kick-off time for the game TBD.
City finished 12th in the Isthmian League North Division last season – the seventh tier of English football.
Opponent: Mildenhall
Date: Saturday 18th July
The following day, they will play Thurlow Nunn Premier League Mildenhall at their Recreation Way ground with the game kicking off at 3pm.
The Suffolk non-league outfit suffered relegation from the Isthmian League North Division in the 2025/26 season after finishing 19th in the table.
Opponent: Bury Town
Date: Tuesday 28th July
A Town XI will play a friendly against Cole Skuse’s side at Ram Meadow in the annual Martin Swallow Memorial Trophy, kicking off at 7:45pm.
It’s named in honour of Martin Swallow, who died after a long battle with a brain tumour in October 2022. He was lifelong fan of Ipswich and chairman of the Supporters club, while also a great supporter of Bury Town, with his voluntary roles including being the stadium announcer.
Last season, a Blues U18s side were beaten 3-0 by the Southern League Premier Central outfit. In previous years, the Blues have sent an U21s squad for the fixture.