The Board Room

[Pat Murphy]

Official Stories concerning the club as an organisation will be stuck or merged in here....

[Pat Murphy]

Nike to sponsor Camp Nou goal end

Gol Sud Nike. That is the new name of the southern goal end at the Camp Nou, the result of a renegotiated contract with the American sportswear giants a few months ago.

Work is currently going ahead on the southern end of the stadium, and it was announced today that not only will there be a change of structure, but also a change of name.

Some 90 new seats

The Nike swoosh will appear in the stands in the form of 90 new yellow seats. The Nike logo will appear as the result of a renegotiated contract between Barça and the sports company last March.

And so it will now be called the Gol Sud Nike (Nike South Goal), and the name will be kept at least until 2013, when the deal between the two parties expires. The name of the new stand will appear on all of the gates to the area and also on tickets for seats in this part of the stadium.

fcbarcelona.com

FCBarcelona.cat

[Pat Murphy]

Barcelona Announce Record Budget After Profitable Campaign

The azulgrana have announced a record high budget for the new season, following a successful campaign off the pitch in the last financial year...

Ferran Soriano, vice president of economic affairs at FC Barcelona, announced today some encouraging figures for Nou Camp fans.

The club managed a net profit of 6.8 million euros last season, based on overall income of 290.1 million euros. Expenditure - including the transfer fees spent on the likes of Thierry Henry - amounted to 270.6 million euros.

While the club's bank debt reduced slightly, it's still at a considerable 28.7 million euros. But, with income set to rise once more, the club has announced a record high budget ahead of the new campaign - a whopping 315 million euros. Expenses are forecast at around the 300 million euro mark.

According to Forbes, Barcelona was the 9th most valuable football club in the world as of this year, but one that is climbing the rankings: only Real Madrid, ranked 2nd after Manchester United, enjoyed greater revenue for the past year.

Goal.com

Goal.com - Barcelona - Barcelona Announce Record Budget After Profitable Campaign


If we have a fantastic season and win the Liga, CL and the new signings have a fantastic season then we could be looking at 4th place in the listings.

Our profit gap would have been much greater but the transfers of Henry etc. have been added on to the last years totals, so we'd probably get another £30m or so profit.

[Pat Murphy]

Barcelona have decided to disband their third team, Barcelona C, after they were obliged to drop to the regional divisions following the relegation of the B team from the second division B.

from Soccer-Spain.com

Bad news I guess. Pep Guardiola has the responsibility to drag Barca B from the Tricera while the team under that will be the Cadet and Juventil A and B teams. The recent relegation of Barca B could set back the Barcelona youth academy by a few years.

[Pat Murphy]

Deloitte UK, News release, Real Madrid stays at the top - Deloitte & Touche LLP

These were announced February 2007 but I thought to show off I might as well put them here:

This year Real Madrid retains its place at the top of the Money League, the club’s second season at the top, while Barcelona move up four places to second.

Barcelona has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent seasons, doubling their revenue since 2002/03 (when they were placed 13th in the Money League).

Manchester United fall to fourth place this year after an indifferent 2005/06 on the pitch, but we expect them to bounce back strongly in next year’s table with the opening of a new stadium development.

So since Laporta has been Prez we've won 2 La Liga's, the Champion's League, doubled our revenue and have a side that leaves Henry currently on the bench. He might be smug but few Barca fans would say he's been negative for the club.

[Pat Murphy]

Kiddie fiddler looking Marc Ingla is the new Barca Vice President.

There hasn't been a Vice President since Sandro Rossel left in 2004 but Laporta is changing the heirachy and looking for more order within the club so named a new VP.

[Pat Murphy]

FIFA award Barça solidarity prize

FC Barcelona have received the FIFA Fair Play for their contributions to humanitarian work and development programmes as part of their agreement with Unicef.

President Joan Laporta collected the sward at the FIFA World Player 2007 gala held on Monday in Zurich. The FIFA Fair Play award recognises the work the club and its Foundation have done in conjunction with Unicef, a project that has made a global impact and contributed to Barça’s image of being “more than a club in the world”.

“Barça. A socially responsible club”

Speaking to Barça TV and the club website, the president described the award as “major recognition”. Laporta believes that the fact that the club has won the FIFA Fair Play award is directly linked to the way that “Barça is a socially responsible club. It is the consecration of being ‘more than a club in the world’ and as president I am very proud and grateful, both to FIFA and to all the members of the board of directors, the general director, the employees, the professionals and the footballers, who have made it possible for FC Barcelona to get this kind of recognition”.

Laporta went on to say that “Barça’s aim is to win titles, but that is not the only aim. It is one of the aims, but is associated to the concept that FC Barcelona is more than a club because it is sensitive to democratic rights, obligations and solidarity”.

The agreement with Unicef

The agreement with Unicef, signed on September 5, 2006 at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, has already deployed its first programme in Swaziland, where a Barça delegation was recently able to inspect the first year’s results. The agreement with Unicef involves a donation of one and a half million euros each year to contribute to a series of projects that both parties have agreed to, as well as the appearance of the organisation’s logo on the club shirt.

Football for charity

FIFA has used this award to show how much it supports actions like these that do so much promote the good that football can do. In this sense, Joan Laporta said that “this worldwide recognition from FIFA fills us with pride and gives us the encouragement to continue working in this direction because we feel that Barça is more than a club and that football is a wonderful instrument for helping those who are most in need”.

fcbarcelona.com

FCBarcelona.cat


Opportunity to say how fantastic we are

[Pat Murphy]

'Le Monde' receives sentence

Barcelona Court of First Instance no 35 has found French newspaper Le Monde and journalist Stéphane Mandard guilty of publishing incorrect information linking FC Barcelona to doping activities.


The following is the full statement that FC Barcelona has made following the closure of the case:

“Barcelona Court of First Instance no 35 reached its verdict on January 10 regarding FC Barcelona’s case against the newspaper Le Monde (Société Éditrice du Monde) and the journalist Stéphane Mandard as a consequence of the publication on December 7 and 8 of 2006 of reports that associated FC Barcelona to doping activities during the 2005/2006 season.

The verdict accepted the lack of veracity contained in the published article and therefore the existence of illegitimate intromission against the right to honour of FC Barcelona by Le Monde and Mr. Mandard, and orders Le Monde to rectify the news article under the terms requested by FC Barcelona in the month of December 2006. Thus, FC Barcelona is satisfied that its terms have been met by the publication of a rectification of the article, which must state that there is in fact no link between FC Barcelona and Mr. Eufemiano Fuentes or doping activities.

Also, as a result of the damages incurred as a consequence of the illegitimate intromission of the right to honour of FC Barcelona, the judgement has sentenced the newspaper Le Monde and Mr. Stéphane Mandard to pay the club the amount of 300,000 euros and to publish the verdict as dictated in both the printed and digital versions of Le Monde and in the two most widely read newspapers in Catalonia.

The verdict is not definitive, as it can be subject to an appeal to the Provincial Audience of Barcelona.

Barcelona, 15 January 2008

FCBarcelona.cat


A french journalist from the Paper "Le Monde" accused Barca of doping without any evidence. Barca won the case and get 300,000 euros compensation.

[Pat Murphy]

Barça Establish MLS Link

Spanish giants Barcelona have signed a five-year strategic partnership with Major League Soccer in the USA...

It was announced on Thursday that the Liga side would be the first European team to enter into such an agreement with the MLS and its commercial partners.

As part of the deal, Barca will play at least six exhibition matches over the five-year period, including taking part on a pre-season tour of the USA this summer, while Soccer United Marketing (SUM) will manage all commercial, PR and marketing aspects for the club while they are Stateside.

Barca president Joan Laporta said that his club are delighted to have set-up a long-term strategy to ensure the development of the Barcelona “brand”.

"After a successful tour in 2006, we at FC Barcelona are excited to embrace a long-term strategy for our brand in the US market," Laporta beamed to SportingLife.

"This represents a true North American expansion for FC Barcelona.

"We are sure that, with the co-operation of MLS and SUM, Barca will become more recognisable among the North American public, as well as continue the growth of soccer in the United States."

Barca are set to finish third in this season’s La Liga and fell to Manchester United in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

The link has been established following a successful tour in 2006, where the Catalans faced three MLS sides in front of sold-out stadiums.

'Delighted'

MLS commissioner Don Garber was understandably delighted after setting up a link with one of the worlds biggest clubs.

"[Barcelona] is a world-renowned brand for its great history of special players, entertaining play and success," Garber said in an MLS statement.

"MLS is excited to help expand the story of FCB and its efforts by showcasing its breathtaking soccer and further developing its brand in North America."

Details of this summer's tour are yet to be released, but the MLS’s statement promised that more news on exact details and opponents would be coming “very soon.”

Chris Myson - Goal.com

Goal.com - Barcelona - Barça Establish MLS Link