Al Ahly, Barça's opponents in the 61st edition of the Estrella Damm Gamper Festival

Al Ahly SC will be FC Barcelona's opponents in the 61st edition of the Estrella Damm Gamper Festival, which will take place on Wednesday 19 August, kicking off at 8.00pm CEST at the Spotify Camp Nou. It will be Barça's first home game of the 2026/27 season and will coincide with the team's official presentation to the Barça fans.

The Joan Gamper Trophy will return to the Spotify Camp Nou following its reopening. Last year's edition was held at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, with Como 1907 as the opposition, while the two previous editions took place at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys against AS Monaco and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

Al Ahly will become the first Egyptian club and the first African side to take part in the Joan Gamper Trophy. Founded in 1907 and based in Cairo, it is the most successful club in Africa and one of the most decorated clubs in world football in terms of international honours, with more than a century of history marked by sporting success and continental trophies. 

Third meeting with Al Ahly

This 61st edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy, sponsored by Estrella Damm, will also serve to renew the historic relationship between two of the most iconic clubs in world football. Al Ahly and FC Barcelona have previously faced each other on special occasions, including during the celebrations marking Al Ahly’s centenary in Cairo in 2007. The two teams also met in a friendly in the city for the first time in 1961. 

Nearly two decades later, the two football giants will meet again, this time at the Spotify Camp Nou, in a historic occasion that will bring together the African Club of the Century and FC Barcelona.

Al Ahly’s participation in the Joan Gamper Trophy reinforces its international profile, as it becomes the first representative of African Football to take part in this prestigious tournament.

Live on Barça Play and YouTube

The official team presentation and the Estrella Damm Gamper Festival match will be broadcast live on Barça Play, the Club's video platform, as well as on the FC Barcelona Premium YouTube channel. This will allow Barça fans around the world to follow the event that officially gets the 2026/27 season under way.