Spanish giants Barcelona have invited Brazilian side Chapecoense to play a friendly at the Nou Camp before the start of the 2017/18 season.
They hope the Brazilian club will take part in the Joan Gamper Trophy match which is the Catalan club's traditional curtain-raiser to a season.
In a statement released on the club's official website, Barcelona said: "FC Barcelona want to pay homage to the 71 people that died in the accident and to their families so it is working on making the 2017 edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy a homage on behalf of the world of football to all of them.”
FC Barcelona invites Chapecoense to the 2017 Joan Gamper Trophy: https://t.co/rXWZOcTybB #FCBLive pic.twitter.com/EfKzPjeS9n
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 8, 2016
“With this invitation to Chapecoense, Barcelona wants to collaborate with the institutional and sporting restructuring of the club to help it recover the competitive level it had,” it added.
The club has today sent a formal letter of invitation to the current Board of Directors of Chapecoense.
The Brazilian side were awarded the 2016 Copa Sudamericana after the South American Football Confederation declared them champions.
The gesture comes after Colombian side Atlético Nacional, the side they were due to play in the final, requested the title be given to the Chapecoense in memory of those who died the plane crash.
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