Israel’s Ministry of Tourism on Monday organized a short tour of FC Barcelona legends to the ancient city of Caesarea, visiting many notable sites, according to a press release. The Barça Legends are “the result of a FC Barcelona program to showcase the great players who have worn his famous colors over the years,” according to the official website of the football club. The group arrived in Israel on Sunday, a few days in advance, where they will face legends Real Madrid in a special “El Clasico” match. The match is scheduled to take place this Thursday at 8:00 p.m. local time at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv. Former Barcelona are starting to participate in the game, including Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Deco. The last Barcelona Legends match was held in Colombia in March 2020. Israel’s Ministry of Tourism hopes that the club’s visit will make Israel more marketable to the rest of the world as an attractive tourist destination.

Israel’s Ministry of Tourism welcomes Barça Legends players to Caesarea (Photo credit: Oded Karni)Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said: “Welcoming sports legends to Israel and doing so as Tourism Minister is a dream come true for me. I know from experience how much sport connects people and how these stars we welcome can be such good ambassadors for us around the world. “In addition to playing their game, the Spanish team also visited Israel for the global opening of “Barça The Exhibition”, which offers a journey through the club’s history since its founding in 1899, and is expected to appear in other countries in the coming months as well. will bring the team closer to its international fan base. The exhibition opened on Sunday in Holon. Also on Sunday, FC Barcelona President Juan Laporta met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the latter’s residence to open “Barça The Exhibition “and attend the” Legends Clásico “, the club website reported. Laporta even gave Herzog a special FC Barcelona shirt that bears his name. The FC Barcelona club have been making headlines in the Israeli media in recent weeks, as it was reported earlier this month that Beitar Jerusalem had canceled a friendly with the Spanish team over a request to play in outside of Jerusalem.