Al Ahly will be on a date with a new page in its history when it faces Barcelona on August 19, within the 61st edition of the Joan Gamper Cup, one of the oldest friendly tournaments in European football.
Although it is a friendly tournament, it represents for Barcelona fans an annual celebration of the start of the new season, and it is the official event during which the Catalan club presents its team to its fans.
How did the tournament begin?
The Joan Gamper Cup began in 1966 at the initiative of then-Barcelona president Enric Llaudet, in honor of the founder of the Swiss club Joan Gamper, who founded Barcelona in 1899 and was the first to lay the foundations of the club that later became one of the largest clubs in the world.
The tournament has continued annually since then, becoming a fixed tradition on Barcelona's pre-season agenda.
In its early years, the tournament was held with the participation of four teams in a semi-final and final system, determining the third and fourth places.
However, since 1997, Barcelona decided to change the system so that the tournament became a single match between the Catalan team and its guest, a system that continues to this day.
Catalan dominance of the tournament
No team dominates the tournament like Barcelona, as the Catalan team has won the title 48 times out of the 60 editions held so far, while the remaining titles went to its guests.
Barcelona has only lost the Gamper Cup on a few occasions, reflecting the moral importance the club attaches to the match in front of its fans.
Unforgettable matches in the Joan Gamper
In the 1983 edition, Barcelona faced the Brazilian team Santos in a match that saw the legend Pelé attend as a guest of honor, giving the tournament one of its most prominent historical moments.
In 2005, Lionel Messi stole the spotlight during Barcelona's 2-1 victory over Juventus, in the match considered the beginning of his big emergence in front of the Camp Nou crowd.
As for the 2022 edition, it witnessed the first appearance of the Polish striker Robert Lewandowski in a Barcelona shirt at Camp Nou, contributing to the crushing 6-0 victory over Mexican side Pumas.
In 2023, Barcelona delivered one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, after turning a 2-1 deficit against Tottenham into a 4-2 victory by scoring three goals in the final minutes of the match.
Al Ahly writes history
The match against Barcelona will mark Al Ahly's first participation in the Joan Gamper Cup, making it one of the few clubs from outside Europe to have the honor of participating in the tournament.
Al Ahly is considered the first Arab and African team to participate in the history of the tournament, as many clubs from outside Europe have participated, but no African team has ever taken part in the tournament.
The match will also be a new opportunity for Al Ahly to gain experience against one of the world's biggest clubs, as part of the club's plan to strengthen its international presence, while for Barcelona it represents the final rehearsal before the start of the new season.
