Barcelona lands in Japan to start a tour that was about to fall apart

Published New:26/07/2025 - 03:07h

Updated New:26/07/2025 - 03:07h

FC Barcelona is already in Kobe, Japan, ready for its first preseason match and a key tour commercially

FC Barcelona is already in Japan for the start of the 2025/26 Asian preseason tour. The Barça expedition was made up of 140 members, including the 30 players called up and also personalities such as the president Joan Laporta; the vice president Rafa Yuste; the treasurer Ferran Olivé, and the directors Miquel Camps, Xavier Puig, Ángel Riudalbàs, Joan Solé, Joan Soler and Sisco Pujol, to mention a few.

Sobrevolando Japón 🦅 pic.twitter.com/6jLIe86Iid
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) July 25, 2025

They all landed at Kansai Airport, in Osaka, after approximately 12 hours of flight, as part of a trip that started from Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport at 12:26 (Spanish time) and touched Japanese soil at 00:42 (Spanish time).

Barça settles in Kobe after arriving in Japan

From their landing in Osaka, the team made one more transfer —this time by bus— of approximately an hour and a half to the city of Kobe, where they stayed at the Kobe Portopia hotel. This will be the club's center of operations during their stay in Japan, for this first stage of the preseason. It is worth noting that the inaugural match will be against Vissel Kobe on July 27 at 12:00 p.m. (Spanish time) at the Misaki Park Stadium.

With FC Barcelona already in the Land of the Rising Sun, the Barça tour of Asian territory can be officially considered inaugurated. A tour that did not start off on the right foot, as it was even on the verge of cancellation, due to what the club described as a "serious breach of contract" by the original sponsor of the event.

However, the situation was redirected thanks to the emergence of Rakuten —former sponsor of Barça—, a company that assumed the necessary financial outlay, valued at €5M. According to sources, that payment should have been made by the Yasuda Group (co-organizer), to reach the 15 'kilos' agreed with the Catalan team and make this tour viable. As a result of all this mess, there were also small logistical inconveniences regarding the flight.

Barcelona's tour in Japan will combine sports and commercial strategy

On this tour, beyond the football commitments, there will also be promotional events, training sessions and meetings with sponsors. The club is fully aware that this tour not only has a sporting weight, but also a key commercial component to reinforce the Barça brand in the Asian market.