Spanish soccer giant FC Barcelona made a big announcement via an email sent to members of the press on Tuesday morning in Catalonia.

In short, the club revealed that Italian outfit Como will be its rival in the 60th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy Match, which typically kicks off the season after the first team has returned from a preseason tour that often takes place in Asia – as it will in 2025 – or the United States.

“Como 1907, the Italian Serie A team of former Barca players Cesc Fabregas and Sergi Roberto, will be the rival of the 60th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy, which will be played on August 10th from 9:00 p.m. at the Johan Cruyff Stadium,” the club confirmed.

Barca mentioned how the match was initially scheduled to be played at its Spotify Camp Nou home.

Up to 60,000 punters were expected to fill a good part of the stadium that will allegedly hold 105,000 spectators when its renovation, which started in the spring of 2023, has been completed.

After the necessary licenses and permits weren’t granted by Barcelona City Council, however, Barca had to cancel its plan and arrange to hold the Gamper at the Johan Cruyff Stadium which has just 6,000 seats.

“The match against Como will be preceded by the presentation of Hansi Flick’s team as part of the ‘Gamper Estrella Damm Party’ and will take place after the dispute of three friendlies on the occasion of the Summer Tour that will take them to Japan to face Vissel Kobe and later to South Korea to play against FC Seoul and Daegu FC. The match against the Italian team will also be the last test before the start of the official league competition on August 16 against Mallorca,” Barca further explained.

“This match will be marked by a historical event, as it will be the first duel between FC Barcelona and Como. The two clubs, with 125 and 118 years of history, respectively, have not met before in an official match or a friendly.

“On the other hand, Como 1907 will be the ninth Italian team to take part in the trophy for the Barca club. In the 59 previous editions, there have been fourteen participations by transalpine teams in a ranking led by Sampdoria and AC Milan (3), FC Internazionale and Juventus (2), and Naples, Parma, AS Roma and Brescia (1),” were further statements made on the history behind the fixture.

Barca complimented Como by saying that it was a revelation last season in the Italian Serie A after finishing in 10th upon its return to the top flight.

Como has FC Barcelona links

Barca also said that Como “has the advantage of having former Blaugrana players Cesc Fabregas as head coach, and former captain Sergi Roberto, who joined Como in August 2024 after eighteen years at FC Barcelona. The squad also includes defender Alex Valle, a youth player who also made his debut with the Blaugrana first team in a friendly match,” it concluded.