<\/p>\n
The Egyptian giants have been invited to play the Spanish champions in the annual pre-season fixture, becoming the latest high-profile club to take part in one of Barcelona\u2019s most established football traditions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Joan Gamper Trophy has previously featured some of world football\u2019s biggest clubs, including Bayern Munich, Juventus, Arsenal and Boca Juniors. This year\u2019s 61st edition, known as La Festa del Gamper Estrella Damm, will see Barcelona host Al Ahly in front of home supporters.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Al Ahly confirmed the agreement after a delegation travelled to Spain for discussions with Barcelona officials. \u201cAl Ahly Football Company has finalised all agreements with Barcelona following a short visit to Spain by a delegation comprising board member Ahmed Hossam Awad and Chief Executive Officer Nayera Ali,\u201d the club said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The delegation held talks with Barcelona Director of Communications Gabriel Martinez and Head of Strategic Projects Marina Yves, with Rio Sports representatives Mohamed Talaat and Karim Talaat also attending the meetings. \u201cDuring the visit, the two clubs agreed to play a friendly match on August 19 as part of the 61st edition of La Festa del Gamper Estrella Damm,\u201d Al Ahly said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The club said discussions covered the organisational and logistical arrangements for the match, with both sides describing the engagement as positive.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe meetings covered all organisational and logistical arrangements for the match in what both sides described as a friendly atmosphere reflecting the strong relationship between the two clubs,\u201d Al Ahly said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For Al Ahly, the fixture forms part of a wider effort to strengthen the club\u2019s international profile and build stronger links with major European teams. \u201cThe agreement is part of Al Ahly Football Company’s broader strategy to enhance the club’s global profile and expand cooperation with leading European football clubs and sports organisations,\u201d Al Ahly said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The match will give Head Coach Hussein Ammouta\u2019s side a valuable opportunity to test themselves against one of Europe\u2019s leading clubs before the start of the new season.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–SABCSport\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40685,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-40684","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Al Ahly will face Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy at Camp Nou on August 19.","published_date":"","news_description":"Al Ahly will face Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy at Camp Nou on August 19.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40690,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40684\/revisions\/40690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}