Party at the Gamper! Barça prepares for the start of 25/26

FC Barcelona and the Italian Como 1907 will face each other at the Johan Cruyff Stadium on Sunday, August 10, 2025, at 9:00 PM CEST for the 60th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy 2025, a friendly match that marks the end of the Barça pre-season.

The match against Como will be preceded by the official presentation of Hansi Flick's team and their new signings as part of the 'Festa del Gamper Estrella Damm' and will take place after three friendly matches on the Asian tour, in Japan and South Korea.

Como, a rival with familiar faces for Barça

In that sense, the clash between Barça and Como will not only have competitive value, but also sporting value. Cesc Fàbregas, trained in the Barça youth academy and former first-team player, will return to Barcelona as coach and rival alongside Sergi Roberto, who left the club at the end of the 23/24 season.

For Barça, the Gamper is an opportunity to present the squad and the new signings, Joan García, Roony Bardghji and Marcus Rashford, to the Barça fans.

Likewise, the Joam Gamper Trophy is the preamble to the first LaLiga EA Sports match that Hansi Flick's team will have on August 16 against Mallorca. The Catalan team will seek to take over the summer tournament for the forty-seventh time, in addition to turning the page after the surprising defeat in the 2024 edition against Monaco (0-3).

Como, meanwhile, comes from finishing in tenth position in Serie A in 24/25, which was their first appearance after their return to the top category of Italian football after 21 years of absence.

Finally, Barcelona has considered playing the 60th edition of the Gamper at the Johan Cruyff stadium, with a capacity of 6,000 spectators, after not obtaining the second First Occupation license from the Barcelona City Council to reopen the Spotify Camp Nou.

It will not be the first time that this friendly match is played in the venue that serves as the headquarters of the women's team, it already did so in 2021 due to the restrictions of the pandemic, when the Catalan team thrashed Juventus of Turin (3-0).

The Camp Nou will not be ready for the Gamper, but it will be for LaLiga

For FC Barcelona, the start of 25/26 will be different, it is one of the most anticipated in Can Barça. The Azulgrana team hopes to return to their home, the Spotify Camp Nou, with a renovated stadium, after spending the last two seasons playing at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic.

This week, the club carried out a technical test on the stadium's works, where it checked the security systems, alarms, evacuation, fire detection and extinguishing systems, as well as emergency exits, accessibility and signage.

Therefore, it is expected that the fans can return to the stands of the mythical Culé stadium in the month of September, when Barcelona receives Valencia, with a partial capacity of about 35,000 spectators, since the Estadi is still under construction.

Otherwise, they would return to Lluís Companys, since the Johan Cruyff does not have the required capacity to host a First Division match. What is certain is that the club will not have two alternative venues during 25/26.