For the second time in a year, Utah State Youth Soccer travelled to Barcelona on their annual soccer tour to Barcelona with DB Sports Tours.
- 8 Days
- 9 Soccer Matches
- 2 Two La Liga Live Games, (FC Barcelona & RCD Espanyol)
- 4 Professional Training Sessions WWqwith Spanish Coaches
- 2 Stadium Visits
- 2 City Tours
- 1 unforgettable week
This is what happens when you trust the right tour company with your team’s once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The Utah State Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (ODP) boys and girls U12 squads, a seven-night tour of Barcelona in March delivered something in between a masterclass and a memory that will last a lifetime and it was made possible by DB Sports Tours from start to finish.
Arriving in the Football Capital of the World
From the moment the group into the Catalan Capital of Barcelona on Friday morning, DB Sports Tours had every detail covered. The group had some time in Barcelona while they were waiting on flights to arrive from the United States.
The following morning, players and parents were already on the bus heading into Barcelona’s iconic La Sagrada Familia & Las Ramblas for a city orientation, wide eyes, phones out, the buzz of a squad that knew this trip was different. In the afternoon they were heading to the first La Liga Match of the week, RCD Espanyol vs Gatafe unfortunately the home team lost 2-1 however that did not dampen the spirits of the team.
By Sunday they were inside FC Barcelona Stadium at the Camp Nou to watch FC Barcelona take on Real Vallecano in La Liga, where the group witnessed a 1-0 victory for the Catalan Giants. For a group of 12-year-olds from Utah, the scale of Spanish football culture hit differently in person.
Training Where the Best Train
But this wasn’t a sightseeing trip with a ball tucked under one arm. DB Sports built a serious soccer programme with the player first approach around the group. Players trained at La Masia FC Barcelona’s legendary academy and visited the Espanyol Academy, getting hands-on sessions with qualified coaching staff. Masterclasses on artificial pitches, goalkeeper coaching, and tactical sessions gave every player something to take home beyond a souvenir kit. The coaching quality on this tour doesn’t exist at your local training ground. DB Sports finds access that most people simply cannot.
Nine Matches and Testing themselves Against the best
The competitive schedule across the week was relentless in the best possible way. The UTAH ODP boys and girls played a total of nine 7v7 matches against top Spanish academy sides including Go Academy Spain, Go Academy Spain, Pobla Girls, and the headline fixture FC Barcelona’s Australia academy team, Barça Australia.
Playing against a side that carries the Barça badge is the kind of challenge that pushes development in ways that regular league seasons simply can’t replicate. The group performed with pride throughout, and every player left having tested themselves against genuine international competition.
The Details that Make the Difference
What separates a good trip from a great one?
The details. DB Sports Tours had shuttle buses coordinated around every training session and match, picnic breakfasts ready at the hotel each morning, group dinners planned each evening including a special night out at the RoadHouse in Salou and a seamless check-out on the final morning before the 4:30am departure.
A 75-person group travelling internationally is a logistical challenge. DB Sports Tours made it look effortless. Parents trusted the process. Coaches could focus on coaching. Players could focus on playing.
Why DB Sports Tours is the right call for your Next Tour
DB Sports Tours doesn’t just book flights and hotels. They build programmes. They open doors at La Masia. They schedule matches against elite academy sides. They put your players in the stands of La Liga stadiums watching world-class football the night before they lace up and play their own matches.
The combination of cultural immersion, elite coaching access, and competitive fixtures is rare and DB Sports Tours has spent years building the relationships and the expertise to make it happen reliably, safely, and at a standard that reflects the ambitions of the players making the trip.
For the Utah State ODP group, Barcelona wasn’t just a holiday with football on the side. It was a defining week in their development as players and as people. If you’re ready to give your team the same experience, DB Sports Tours is the only call you need to make.
