Barcelona settle on Al Ahly as opponents for the Joan Gamper Trophy | OneFootball

According to Mundo Deportivo, FC Barcelona have confirmed their opponent for this year’s Joan Gamper Trophy, with the club reaching an agreement to face Egyptian giants Al Ahly.

The traditional pre-season fixture will be played on August 19 at the Spotify Camp Nou, marking the Blaugrana’s first appearance at their home stadium ahead of the new campaign.

A strategic opportunity

By facing Al Ahly, Barcelona will take on one of the biggest and most successful clubs in African football.

The fixture is also viewed as a strategic opportunity for the Catalan club to strengthen its presence in the Egyptian market, a country with a population of around 110 million people.

Barcelona will face Al Ahly in the Gamper Trophy. (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)

The match also carries a special connection for Barça because Al Ahly is the former club of Hamza Abdelkarim, the Egyptian striker who joined the club’s youth academy during the winter transfer window.

Multiple opponents explored

Before landing on Al Ahly, Barcelona explored a number of other teams as potential opponents for the Gamper Trophy match.

RB Leipzig were initially considered as an option but scheduling and logistical issues meant that the Bundesliga giants were discarded.

Later on, Barça also explored the idea of playing AFC Ajax in the Gamper Trophy match. It would have carried special significance as this year marks the tenth anniversary of the death of Johan Cruyff.

But with the Dutch giants beginning their participation in the qualifying phase for the UEFA Conference League, they were also ruled out.

Pre-season plans taking full shape. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Therefore, Barcelona have now settled on Al Ahly as their opponents for the traditional curtain-raiser of their season.

Five pre-season friendlies before that

Leading up to that match, Barcelona will play at least five pre-season friendlies, starting off with a game against CE Europa on 24 July.

Barça will later face Birmingham City in a friendly during their England training camp, where they could also take on Preston North End.

Finally, the Blaugrana will also face Udinese and Nottingham Forest in a triangular tournament in Italy. It remains to be seen if there are any more fixtures added to the pre-season schedule.