Because of capacity issues at Barcelona's iconic La Masia - the academy based in the grounds of an old farmhouse that famously produced seven of Spain's 2010 World Cup winning team - the Catalan club have built a new facility. It features a five-floor, 6000sq/m accommodation facility for 83 players.
Auckland City had explored the possibility of a pre-tournament match against Barcelona B but a more realistic option appears to be a game against Espanyol B.
Espanyol are the cross-town rivals of Barcelona who number international stars such as Paulo Sousa (Portugal), Florin Raducioiu (Romania), Ivan De La Pena (Spain) and Vasyl Rats (Soviet Union) among their former alumni.
Auckland City would then fly to Casablanca and on to Agadir, a port city 500km south on the shores of the Atlantic.
In another contrast with the last two campaigns, Auckland City also have the advantage of already knowing who their opposition will be. The 2012 J-League didn't finish until days before the start of last year's tournament, meaning that Auckland coach Ramon Tribulietx had to prepare for and analyse up to three potential opponents simultaneously. However, the Moroccan league (the Botola Pro) concluded in June, with Raja Casablanca winning the title, confirming them as the opposition for the match on 12 December.
Raja Casablanca have been champions of Morocco on 11 occasions and qualified for the inaugural Fifa Club World Cup in 2000. They didn't win a match at that event in Brazil but gained many admirers with their performances in a tough group, losing 2-0 to Corinthians (Brazil), 4-3 to Al Nassr (Egypt) and 3-2 to Real Madrid.
Nicknamed the Green Eagles, they were also African champions in 1989, 1997 and 1999.
Last season they received an unwanted shot of international fame due to an astonishing miss by striker Hamza Abourazzouk, which received thousands of YouTube hits and was also featured on the Guardian website.
In a match in March against Al-Arabi, Abourazzouk missed an open goal twice in the space of a few seconds, hitting the same post from a yard out after his original shot from six yards rebounded.
The 2013 tournament will also feature Bayern Munich (appearing for the first time) and Monterrey (Mexico) while the South American spot will be taken by either Atlético Mineiro (Brazil) or Olimpia (Paraguay). Auckland City will be making a record fifth appearance at the tournament.
The club have also started recruitment for the event, particularly on the lookout for a replacement for prolific Spanish striker Manuel Exposito, who recently returned to professional football with a Belgian club.
Meanwhile, the Wellington Phoenix have signed New Zealand under-20 captain Luke Adams on a one-year deal.
Adams, who is usually a centre back but can also play fullback, trained last week with the Phoenix and quickly impressed new head coach Ernie Merrick. "Luke has been a stand-out at training and fits into our plans for the squad, both as a player and a person," said Merrick. "Luke ticks all the boxes. I want to help develop young New Zealand players while at the same time signing the right players for the Phoenix."
It is a welcome step in the right direction for the Phoenix who in previous years seemed to concentrate their efforts on young Australians, with little dividend.
As well as the under-20 side, Adams was captain of the national under-17 squad and spent one year at English Championship side Derby County before being released.
