Barcelona invite stricken Brazilian club Chapecoense to pre-season match at the Nou Camp

Barcelona have invited tragedy-hit Chapecoense to play in a pre-season friendly next summer.

The Spanish champions have formally asked the Brazilian club if they wish to take part in the Joan Gamper Trophy, an annual match between Barca and an invited opponent at the Nou Camp.

Barca say they want to pay tribute and help with the "institutional and sporting reconstruction" of Chapecoense following last month's plane crash which killed 71 people, including 19 players.

A Barca statement read:

The jet carrying the Chapecoense team, along with club officials and journalists, to Medellin for the Copa Sudamericana final against Colombian side Atletico Nacional came down late on Monday, November 28.

Just three of the team - defender Alan Luciano Ruschel, reserve goalkeeper Jackson Ragnar Follmann and centre-back Helio Hermito Zampier Neto - were named among only six survivors of the crash.

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) this week declared Chapecoense Copa Sudamericana champions 2016.