Albion's women will face Barcelona in pre-season (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
Albion's women will face Barcelona in pre-season (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
Albion will play European champions Barcelona in one of the most famous pre-season events in Spanish football.
The Seagulls’ women will face Barça Femení for the Joan Gamper Trophy on Friday, August 21 at the Johan Cruyff Stadium in Barcelona, with kick-off 8pm local time.
The Gamper is a traditional summer event for the Catalan giants and was first played by the men in 1966 in honour of the club’s founder, Joan Gamper.
The female version is now into its fifth season and Barcelona have won the previous four, beating Juventus (twice), Montpellier and Milan.
Albion can look forward to the toughest test in European football as they prepare for a WSL season which kicks off at home to 2024-25 Champions League winners Arsenal.
Barcelona regained their crown by beating OL Lyonnes 4-0 in the final.
The match is open to the public and ticket information will be confirmed as soon as possible.
Seagulls boss Dario Vidosic said: “We’re really looking forward to taking on one of the best teams in the world and testing ourselves against an elite squad.
“It will be really good preparation for the start of the WSL season and I’m sure some of our supporters will travel to get behind the players on the day.”
Barcelona have won the last seven Spanish leagues and lifted the Champions League four times in that period.
They topped the domestic Liga F table by a 15-point margin last season with 29 wins out of 30 and a goal difference of 130-9.
Albion also have a home friendly against PSG at the Amex on Sunday, August 9 (midday).
They continued their preparations with a 3-1 friendly win over Norwegian outfit Brann at Lancing.
Goals came from Fran Kirby and summer signings Emily Murphy and Nadia Krezyman while Lia Walti was also among recent arrivals to get minutes.