French side Perpignan have announced that their Heineken Cup quarter-final clash with Toulon will take place in Barcelona.
French side move Heineken Cup clash across the border to Spain
French side Perpignan have announced that their Heineken Cup quarter-final clash with Toulon will take place in Barcelona.
Perpignan are based in the Catalan area of south west France, and have decided to take April's big European clash over the border to Spain to try and attract more interest.
The club have been in Barcelona to organise the fixture, and released the news at the Camp Nou stadium where the city's major football team FC Barcelona play their home games.
"It's been 15 years that we've heard talk around the club about wanting to play a match in Barcelona," Perpignan president Paul Goze told a news conference.
Perpignan will not play at Camp Nou though - they will be running out at the Olympic Stadium, where the city's other football team Espanyol has previously played their home games.
Goze and Barcelona president Sandro Rosell say they hope around 50,000 fans will turn up to cheer on Perpignan against their French rivals Toulon for a place in the Heineken Cup semi-finals.
"We want to transform the event into a great party of rugby," said Rosell.
Rugby union is not a major sport in Spain, but the area around Perpignan is big for both rugby union and rugby league - with the Catalans Dragons currently playing in the English Super League.
