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Barcelona have announced a new friendly as part of their preparations for the upcoming 2026-2027 season.
According to Barcelona's official website, Hansi Flick's side will visit Basel in Switzerland on Sunday 16 August at 4:30pm Central European Summer Time. The game takes place at St. Jakob-Park, one of the country's most prominent football stadiums.
The Basel match will be the team's third fixture of pre-season, following the friendly against Birmingham City and the triangular tournament in Udine against Nottingham Forest and Udinese.
One final test awaits before the official start of the season. The Joan Gamper Trophy against Egypt's Al Ahly doubles as the team's official presentation to their supporters at their own stadium.
Previous encounters
Barcelona and Basel have met twice in official competitions, both in the group stage of the Champions League during the 2008-2009 season.
The Catalan side thumped their hosts 5-0 at St. Jakob-Park, with Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez and a Bojan Krkic double doing the damage. The return at the Camp Nou finished 1-1, Messi scoring again.
Long before those meetings, Barcelona played twice in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup during the 1958-1960 competition, against a team representing the city of Basel.
Both went their way. They won 2-1 away, then wrapped things up with a 5-2 result in the return.
A stadium that holds special memories
Basel holds a special place in Barcelona's history. The city hosted the European Cup Winners' Cup final on 16 May 1979, where the Catalans beat Fortuna Dusseldorf 4-3 in an unforgettable encounter that stretched into extra time.
That win delivered Barcelona's first major European title. It also drew unprecedented backing, with around 30,000 fans travelling to Switzerland, the first massive away trip by Barcelona supporters to attend a European final.
More than four decades on, Barcelona return to the city forever linked to one of the most unforgettable chapters in the club's history.