No voice rises above the voice of the anticipated summit between Al-Ahly Club and its Spanish counterpart Barcelona, for the title of the friendly Joan Gamper Cup, in preparation for the new 2026/2027 season.
Barcelona Club announced that the match against Al-Ahly will be held on Wednesday, August 19, at 8:00 p.m. Spanish time (9:00 p.m. Cairo time).
This edition of the Joan Gamper Cup will contribute to renewing the historical relationship between two of the oldest football clubs in the world; Al-Ahly and Barcelona have previously met on several occasions.
History of Al-Ahly's matches against Barcelona
Looking at the history of Al-Ahly's matches against Barcelona, we find that the two teams have previously faced each other on 3 previous occasions, all in a friendly context.
The first match between Al-Ahly and Barcelona took place in April 1961, in Cairo, and Al-Ahly lost 6-1 at the time, with Taha Ismail scoring the Red Giants' only goal.
The second match came in 2007, when Al-Ahly held a celebratory match on the occasion of the "Centenary" against Barcelona, and the two teams played with all their stars, with the latter winning 4-0.
The last meeting between the Red Giants and the Catalan giants came in 2009, as part of a friendly preparatory tournament, at Wembley Stadium in London, and Al-Ahly fell again, 4-1, with Hani El-Agizi scoring the only goal for the Red Giants.
The match was renewed at Wembley Stadium in a friendly tournament in 2009, and Al-Ahly lost to Barcelona 4-1, with Hani El-Agizi scoring the Red Giants' only goal.
The upcoming match on August 19 gains special significance as it is the first between Al-Ahly and Barcelona in Spain and at Camp Nou as part of the Catalan team's program for the new season and for the Joan Gamper Cup.
Hamza Abdel Karim "Double Agent"
The match between Barcelona and Al-Ahly features an interesting paradox, as Hamza Abdel Karim, the Egyptian national team striker, plays for the Catalan giants, having joined them permanently from the Red Giants after a successful loan spell last winter.
Hamza Abdel Karim continues his training with Barcelona's first team under the leadership of German coach Hans Flick as part of the preparation camp for the new 2026/2027 season.
Hamza made his first appearance with Barcelona's first team in a friendly match yesterday, Friday, against Europa, and the Catalan giants achieved a big victory, 4-0, with the Egyptian striker participating from the start.
