ISTANBUL / Ahmed Hassan / Anadolu Agency

Egyptian club Al Ahly announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with Barcelona, the Spanish La Liga champion, to play the Joan Gamper Cup match at Spotify Camp Nou on the upcoming August 19.

In a statement from the Red Castle: 'A delegation from Al Ahly Football Company, comprising Ahmed Hossam Awad, a member of the club and company’s board of directors, and Naira Ali, the company’s CEO, made a short visit to Spain.'

The statement added: 'During the visit, an agreement was reached with the historic Barcelona club to hold a football match between the two clubs on the upcoming August 19, in the 61st edition of the Joan Gamper Cup.'

This move comes amid the friendly relations between the two clubs, following the deal Barcelona made with Al Ahly, where it permanently signed young forward Hamza Abdelkarim after his loan in the second half of last season.

The Joan Gamper Cup is the annual event in which Barcelona presents its first team to its fans before the start of the new season. The tournament was first launched in 1966 with four teams, before the system changed to two teams since the 1997 edition.

It is worth noting that Al Ahly will be the first Arab and African team to be selected to face Barcelona for the Joan Gamper Cup, as previous participants have only been from Europe, South America, and North America.

Al Ahly will play next season under the guidance of Moroccan coach El Hussein Ammouta, who succeeded Dane Jess Thorup, as it seeks to regain the league title it lost to rival Zamalek.

The team will also participate for the first time in the CAF Confederation Cup, after its dream of competing in the Champions League ended by finishing third in the Egyptian Premier League standings last season.