Barça return to Morocco after 38 year break

Tangier will welcome Tito Vilanova’s Barça 38 years after the Club last set foot in Morocco when the team play at the 45,000 capacity Grand Stade on July 28th – four days after their opening pre-season game against Hamburg.

‘Visca Tanja’

The game will played under the slogan “Visca Tanja” mixing both Catalan and Arabic and Barça will face a Moroccan select XI under the charge of one of the country’s best known coaches Rachid Taoussi, who has won three titles this season with the Moroccan First Division outfit Maghreb de Fez. The visit of the Club will also coincide with a number of social action initiatives.

Three previous games

The first time FC Barcelona played in Morocco was on August 30th 1969, when they played for the Mohammed V Trophy in Casablanca. Their first opponents were the Brazilians São Paulo and Barça won 0-2 to go through to the final against Bayern Munich, who they beat on penalties.

Five years later, on May 1st 1974, the team were back in Casablanca for a friendly against the Moroccan team W.A.C., which they won 0-3.

Now, nearly 40 years later, the thousands of Barça fans in Morocco will have the chance this July to see Tito Villanova’s second game in charge of the team.