Barcelona board of directors set to meet today; location of pre-season camp to be decided – Report | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have an important administrative day ahead, with the board of directors due to meet and one of the more interesting items on the agenda tied directly to Hansi Flick’s preparations for next season. The club are set to discuss the location of this summer’s pre-season camp, which now looks likely to take place in Europe rather than on an overseas tour.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the board will hold its ordinary meeting today to deal with several day-to-day club matters, and one of them is expected to be the issue of the next pre-season stage. The report says Barcelona are considering either Germany or the United Kingdom as the destination.

That is a notable shift from recent summers. For the first time since 2021, when the pandemic forced changes, Barcelona are expected to return to a European training camp instead of going on a full summer tour.

Because there will be a World Cup this summer, Barca’s internationals who take part will only begin their holidays after the tournament. That makes a traditional tour far more difficult to organise, since the squad would arrive in fragments rather than as one full group.

From a Barcelona perspective, that actually makes plenty of sense. A fixed European base would allow Flick and his staff to start work with whoever is available, then gradually fold the internationals back in as their breaks end. It is a more practical solution for a club that will want order rather than chaos before another demanding season.

Germany would feel like a natural option given Flick’s background and the kind of controlled training environments often associated with pre-season there. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, could also offer strong facilities and competitive conditions.

Pre-season this year will be trickier from a Barcelona perspective as Flick will have to deal with the World Cup absences. However, that can be no excuse for a lack of preparation and let’s wait and see where Barcelona decide to set camp in the summer.