Ghana’s Hafiz Gariba joins Barcelona first-team pre-season

Ghanaian defender Hafiz Gariba has taken another significant step in his development after joining Barcelona’s first-team squad for the opening day of the club’s pre-season preparations.

The young centre-back, who is part of Barcelona’s renowned La Masia academy, was among a select group of youth prospects invited to train alongside the senior squad as preparations begin for the 2026-27 season.

Gariba trained with several of the club’s highly-rated academy players, including Aarón Yaakobishvili, Jofre Torrents, Ibrahim Diarra, Guille Fernández and Toni Fernández, as Barcelona continued their tradition of integrating emerging talent into the first-team environment during pre-season.

His inclusion reflects the club’s confidence in his progress and underlines Barcelona’s long-standing commitment to developing players from their academy. For Gariba, the opportunity offers valuable experience as he seeks to impress the coaching staff ahead of the new campaign.

The call-up also marks another proud moment for Ghanaian football, with Gariba becoming one of the latest young talents from the country to move closer to breaking into one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Although the defender is expected to continue his development within Barcelona’s academy structure, training with the first team represents an important milestone and could strengthen his prospects of earning further opportunities during the season.

Jamaldeen Wiayuka

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