Birmingham City make ‘special’ claim ahead of Barcelona fixture after ticket milestone | OneFootball

Blues host the Catalan giants at the end of the month in a major pre-season clash

Birmingham City have, this week, commenced their pre-season preparations ahead of the Championship campaign which gets underway on the weekend of August 15th with an away trip to Sheffield United.

Chris Davies and his side returned to their EPIC training base in Henley-in-Arden on Monday to start putting in the hard yards ahead of yet another gruelling 46-game league campaign and beyond, with the season actually beginning, in a competitive sense, with their EFL Cup first round tie against fellow Championship side, Swansea City, on August 8th.

Birmingham finished 10th last term, which was the club's highest league finish in a decade since the only full season of Gary Rowett's first spell at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, but it was still met with a tinge of disappointment when taking into account the continued investment put into the squad at Davies' disposal from American investors, Knighthead Capital Management.

Despite a raft of incomings and outgoings in both transfer windows last season after a record-breaking campaign on so many fronts in 2024/25, Blues were hardly in the promotion conversation, ending nine points outside the top six.

However, there is an increased chance the club could end its lengthy exile from the Premier League this season, with the Championship play-offs being expanded to include the teams who finish seventh and eighth, as initial 'eliminator' ties will take place before the customary semi-finals and the final.

It had been fairly quiet on the transfer front in terms of incomings for Davies prior to the signing of Dael Fry on a three-year deal on Friday afternoon, with plenty of previous attention from the club being put towards a high-profile pre-season friendly in B9 against Spanish giants, FC Barcelona.

Birmingham City make 'special' claim as Barcelona ticket milestone confirmed

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At present, Davies and his squad are set to jet out to the Algarve, Portugal, for a six-day training camp, during which they will face off against League One opposition in Huddersfield Town.

Upon their return to England on July 11th, further domestic friendlies against Solihull Moors, Northampton Town, Crewe Alexandra and Burton Albion have been pencilled in the diary, before welcoming Hansi Flick's La Liga champions to the West Midlands on the evening of Friday, July 31st - one week before the competitive season gets underway.

It was confirmed in mid-June that the friendly would be taking place with Barcelona basing themselves at the Football Association's training base of St George's Park in Burton for a two-week training camp.

However, the strength of the squad at the German's disposal very much hinges on how Spain fare during the remainder of the World Cup, as they are now in the round of 16 against Portugal after cruising to victory against Austria in Los Angeles.

The likes of Blues' Advisory Board Chairman and NFL icon, Tom Brady and CEO, Jeremy Dale, had previously reacted to the fixture announcements, while ticket prices had certainly caused a stir amongst supporters.

That said, the club have now confirmed that over 20,000 tickets have already been sold way in advance of the match, with a caption reading: "It’s going to be one special atmosphere for one special fixture"

Birmingham City fans will hope for a strong performance against Barcelona

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The long and short of it is that whatever happens against Barcelona, it will not have any repercussions on Blues' league season, although a strong performance to build belief and increase fitness levels will certainly be welcomed.

As a result, not all are entirely on board with the large, yet understandable, promotion of a fixture which is unlikely to happen again anytime soon, even though Tom Wagner hopes Birmingham can eventually establish themselves back in the Premier League before becoming a force at their upcoming 62,000-seater Powerhouse stadium.

One of the very few comments on the ticket milestone update read: "Who cares ?? Where’s the new kit ? Where the new D.O.F (Director of Football) ? Where’s the new signings for us fans to witness at the training session in Portugal ? Please give us something to be excited about . Not a pointless friendly against a Barca B team."