Camp Nou to host King's Cup fil

Barcelo, March 26: The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said this season’s King’s Cup fil between Athletic Club Bilbao and FC Barcelo will be played at Camp Nou here on May 30.

Both filists had asked for the game to be played at Real Madrid’s 78,000 capacity Santiago Berbeu.

Last week, they sent a joint letter to RFEF requesting that the Madrid stadium be the venue, arguing that it is the biggest neutral ground in Spain, reports Xinhua.

Madrid is relatively easy to reach for both sets of supporters and the capital city has enough hotels to accommodate everyone with no problem.

However, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who describes themselves as a ‘club of gentlemen’, refused to cede the ground to Athletic and Barcelo for the second time in three years, forcing both sides to agree on an altertive venue.

Athletic asked for the fil to be played in Seville in Betis’ Benito Vilamarin while Barcelo preferred Valencia’s Mestalla and the two were uble to reach agreement.

That meant the RFEF members voted on the fil and they decided to play in Barcelo’s Camp Nou, which has a capacity of 99,000, much greater than either Mestalla or Athletic’s San Mames, which was also mooted as a possible venue.

Barcelo will have a clear advantage in playing in a ground which they are used to while Athletic will think that their support will perhaps outnumber Barcelo fans in the stadium. IANS