Barcelona have invited Chapecoense to play in a friendly at the Camp Nou in August 2017, as a tribute to the victims of the plane crash in Colombia that killed several Chapecoense players and staff, the Spanish champions announced on Thursday.

“FC Barcelona want to pay homage to the 71 people that died in the accident and to their families so it is working on making the 2017 edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy a homage on behalf of the world of football to all of them,” said a statement on the club’s official website.

“With this invitation to Chapecoense, Barcelona wants to collaborate with the institutional and sporting restructuring of the club to help it recover the competitive level it had,” the statement continued.

The Joan Gamper Trophy is Barcelona’s traditional season curtain-raiser, with the game against an invited team taking place each year at the Camp Nou a week before the start of the La Liga season. Sampdoria were Barça’s opponents in the 2016 edition, while other recent participants include Napoli, Santos and Manchester City.

Nineteen Chapecoense players were killed in the crash on 28 November with club directors, coaching staff and journalists also among the victims. The team were travelling to the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana against Atlético Nacional, who subsequently campaigned for the trophy to be awarded to their opponents.