Not distance or coin toss: the curious reason why Barcelona is ‘home’ team in Copa del Rey final 2025

Playing at home doesn’t just mean being surrounded by your fans or playing in your stadium. It also means wearing your primary colors.

For some clubs, their first kit is a badge of honor; for others, it’s a psychological weapon. Few need reminding who wears blaugrana or white. But for the Copa del Rey final, it’s not always that simple.

Why is Barça the Copa home team?

The Copa del Rey final will be played at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville on Saturday, April 26, at 4:00 p.m. ET. Despite being 300 miles (give or take) from both the Bernabéu and Montjuïc, deciding which team plays as the “home” side isn’t about geography, a draw, or the tournament bracket.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) uses a different rule. The competition regulations state: “If the uniforms of the two competing teams are so similar as to cause confusion, the team that changes will be the one playing away. If the match is held at a neutral site, the team with the more recent affiliation to the RFEF must change.”

Since Barcelona was founded on November 29, 1899, and Real Madrid on March 6, 1902, the Catalan club holds seniority and will officially be the home team. That means Barça will enjoy the privilege of wearing their classic blue and garnet stripes.

What kit will Real Madrid wear?

This will be the fourth Clásico of the 2024-25 season. The first came during preseason on August 4, 2024, followed by league play on October 26, and the Spanish Super Cup final on January 12. The Copa del Rey final is next, with the final league meeting still to come.

In the previous three Clásicos, Real Madrid wore their iconic white kit, even when Barcelona was the designated away team. Barça, for their part, did not use their black or green alternate kits in any of those games.

However, for the final in Seville, it will be up to referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoechea to decide if the kits cause too much visual overlap. If so, Madrid would have to change, likely opting for their orange away kit or the gray-and-silver third kit.

Given past precedent, Madrid may still wear white, but Barcelona’s status as home team ensures they control the uniform conversation. It’s one of those subtle but meaningful details that add an extra layer of intrigue to one of football’s biggest rivalries.

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