Barcelona prepares for Gamper Trophy against Al Ahly
FC Barcelona is set to host Al Ahly SC in the 61st edition of the Festa del Gamper Estrella Damm. The traditional preseason fixture will take place at Spotify Camp Nou, marking its return after four seasons. The match is scheduled for 8 pm CEST on Wednesday. This event will be the first time an African team has competed for the trophy.
The presentation of the 2026/27 Barça squad is planned for an hour before kick-off, at 7 pm CEST. Both the squad presentation and the match will be available globally, with the exception of Egypt, via Barça Play.
New additions to the Barcelona squad are anticipated to be a focal point of the event. Players such as Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, and Jesse Bisiwu are expected to make their first Gamper Trophy appearance. Hamza Abdelkarim, who developed through Al Ahly’s system, has scored three goals in preseason. Rodrigo Hernández, recently announced as Barça’s latest signing, is not expected to play but will be present.
Team preparations and recent form
The match serves as the final preseason assessment for Barcelona. The team started its preparations with a 2-2 draw against Birmingham City. They secured one victory in a triangular tournament held in Udine and achieved a win in Basel last Sunday. Barcelona’s competitive season for 2026/27 will commence with a La Liga fixture away to Elche on Sunday at 9:30 pm CEST. The club enters the new season as reigning Liga and Spanish Super Cup champions.
Al Ahly SC arrived in Spain for the preseason match. The club confirmed their delegation reached Barcelona on Monday from Montanya. The coaching staff intends to use the game to evaluate players’ physical and technical readiness and to enhance team cohesion. New signing Akram Tawfik joined Al Ahly’s first-team squad at their preseason training camp in Spain on Thursday morning, having signed as a free agent. Al Ahly will continue their training camp in Spain until August 20 before returning home to prepare for the Egyptian Premier League season, which begins with a league game against Enppi FC on Sunday, August 23, at Cairo International Stadium.
In their last five preseason matches, Barcelona recorded three wins and two losses. Their most recent outing resulted in a 5-2 victory over Basel, and they also defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 earlier in the summer. Losses occurred against Udinese and Birmingham City, with the latter ending in a 2-2 draw before a tiebreaker loss. Across these five games, Barcelona scored 12 goals and conceded nine.
Al Ahly’s last five matches were in the Egyptian Premier League, where they achieved four wins and one defeat. This sequence includes a 3-0 win over Zamalek and a 3-0 victory against ENPPI. However, a 3-0 loss to Pyramids FC interrupted a three-match winning streak. Over these five outings, Al Ahly scored eight goals and conceded four.
Historically, Barcelona and Al Ahly have met once in a friendly match on July 26, 2009, which Barcelona won 4-1.
Source: fcbarcelona.com
