‘Quit Smoking with Barça’, promoted by FC Barcelona and the European Commission, is a campaign designed to help people give up smoking. This week it has received no fewer than four awards. Three of them were announced on Friday at the CCB (Creative Club of Belgium) awards gala, and emphasised the creativity and originality of the publicity.

The campaign is currently helping more than 70,000 people to give up smoking. It avoids judging smokers and instead focuses on the benefits of kicking the habit. On Wednesday, it received recognition from the EACA Care Awards. The awards celebrate the contribution to society of the advertising industry by selecting and celebrating the best public interest marketing campaigns. ‘Quit smoking with Barça’ was recognised for its contribution to public health for the Europe-wide campaign to give up smoking.

A prestigious collaboration

Jordi Monés, the director responsible for FC Barcelona’s medical department, said: “At Barça we believe firmly in our slogan, ‘More than a Club’ and we encourage values of respect, health and social commitment. ‘Quit smoking with Barça’ lets us put this slogan into practice. We are delighted to continue collaborating with the European Commission in such an important public health problem and these awards clearly show that our combined efforts have not gone unnoticed”.

‘Quit smoking with Barça’ came out of two prior initiatives by the two sponsoring bodies focussed on a healthy lifestyle without tobacco. In March 2011, the European Commission launched their campaign “Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable” throughout the 27 member countries of the EU. A few months later, in January 2012, FC Barcelona launched its own campaign ‘Barça Sense Fum’, banning smoking inside the Club’s premises.

On Monday, the coastal town of Sitges was the venue for an FC Barcelona board meeting. President Sandro Rosell and his colleagues headed to the town in El Garraf where as well the itinerant meeting, they also paid an institutional visit to the Town Hall. There, they were welcomed by the local mayor, Miquel Forns along with other councillors, senior members of the local sports scene and representatives from the Peña Barcelonista de Sitges.

Presentation of gifts

In the assembly hall, Miquel Forns welcomed his guests and presented them with copies of the book 'Sitges de ayer y de siempre', as well as a model of the local church, one of the most emblematic buildings in the town. Sandro Rosell thanked his host, and while also handing over a gift of his own, explained that they had decided to come to Sitges because so many members of his board had links in the town. At their meeting, he announced that they would be discussing “how to make sure Barça stays in the elite of world football. The work we’ll be doing will bear fruits.”

The group then moved on for a tour of the Casa Bacardí, the town’s old market, and were joined for lunch by the mayor and his assistant Vinyet Lluís.

Meeting in Palau de Maricel

At around 16.00, the president led his team to the Palau de Maricel, whether they were welcomed by the local councillor for culture, Mireia Rosell. They were shown into the Sala d'Or, which was the venue for the meeting.

On Tuesday at about 13.00, the spokesman for the board, Toni Freixa, will be appearing in the Ricard Maxenchs pressroom to report on the decisions made.

The club was saddened on Sunday to learn of the death in Albacete at the age of 91 years of Enrique Orizaola Velázquez, who managed Barça to its first ever European Cup final in 1960/61

Born in Peñacastillo (Santander) in 1921, Orizaola was a skilful midfielder who made his mark at hometown club Racing over seven seasons (1941-1948). He later went into management and came to FC Barcelona in 1960 to serve as assistant to Croat Ljubisa Brocic.

Manager in Berne

Although the team had some major stars in Ramallets, Segarra, Gensana, Kocsis, Kubala, Czibor, Suárez and Evaristo, Barça were not getting the results, and Brocic was sacked on January 12, 1961. It made sense for his place to be taken by Orizaola, who had quietly stayed in the shadows but had gained the respect of the first team players. The Liga was already out of reach, so the Cantabrian focused his efforts on the European Cup instead, where FCB had knocked out five-time champions Real Madrid in the quarter finals. The Catalans went on to beat Spartak Hradec Kralove and Hamburg, not without many difficulties against the latter, to make it into the final for the first time ever.

So Barcelona were off to Berne to play Benfica, and went into the game as favourites. But May 31, 1961 was a day when the gods were not on their side. They lost 3-2, having hit the woodwork four times and after Ramallets has scored in his own net. After the game, a visibly upset Orizaola said “I’ve never seen anything like it, we are the champions of misfortune”.

Barça and Cantabria in his heart

He left Barça at the end of that season and went on to manage a number of different clubs in Spain: Osasuna, Oviedo, Levante, Deportivo and others. In 1983 he returned to FC Barcelona to work as a scout. Seven years later, he joined the executive at Real Zaragoza and in 1993/94 he ended his final professional role as technical secretary of Albacete.

Orizaola was widely respected for his profound knowledge of the game, and could have been famed for leading Barça to one of its most glorious nights ever had luck been kinder in Berne in May 1961. Although Cantabria was always his homeland, for the remainder of his days, he also found plenty of room for FC Barcelona in his heart.

On Tuesday, the Camp Nou was the meeting place for the top international instagramers that are promoting Catalonia on the social network.

The Barça museum was the venue on Tuesday for a meeting of the best instagramers that are using their pictures to promote Catalonia. The 10 ‘igers’ have travelled from Japan, Holland, Germany, Denmark and Italy, as well as Catalonia and other parts of Spain. They have around 1,400,000 followers in total.

The meeting on the FC Barcelona premises was attended by Dídac Lee, and honoured the way that these photographers’ pictures are going to promote Catalonia on the popular social network. The Catalan Tourism Board has designed a program that enables ‘igers’ to get to know all the details about what is on offer to tourists in Catalonia. They will get the chance to visit the mussel farms in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, to taste the wines of El Priorat, to view such World Heritage Sites as Casa Batlló and Poblet Monastery, go kayaking in Siurana, walk around the gothic district of Barcelona, enjoy the rides at Port Aventura and watch the Moto Aperol Catalonian Catalunya at the Circuit de Catalunya, among other activities.

Top prizes

On arrival in Barcelona, the international ‘igers’ got the chance to meet 200 members of the ‘Igers Catalunya’ community and join them for a visit to the Camp Nou and take part in a photography competition organised by Barça for which the prize was the new first team second strip.

Sandro Rosell, president of FC Barcelona, will be giving a press conference on Thursday to review the 2012/13 season, which ended with the first team winning the league championship.

The event begins at 17.30 in the Auditori 1899 and will be shown live on Barça TV and will also be streamed on www.fcbarcelona.com

Sandro Rosell usually gives a similar conference around Christmas time, did not do so last December because the day scheduled for the event happened to be the one that the relapse of Tito Vilanova’s parotid gland disorder was announced.

The referendum on the Camp Nou building project will be held in the first trimester of 2014. The vote will be carried out as planned after all the legal and financial requirements are met, which include conversations with the government of Barcelona and exploring financing options.

In the following days, just as FC Barcelona spokesman Toni Friexa announced, the Club will “have the conclusions from the market study commissioned to a consultant group in order to understand which technical and urban possibilities are viable.” The report will be available for review the next time the Board of Directors convenes.

Improving accessibility

Freixa also announced that the Board approved a project to improve the Camp Nou’s access gates 9 and 14, in addition to improving the boulevard. The project is set begin this July and go through November, and it will cost approximately 1.1 million euros.  The dressing rooms of the Ciutat Esportiva will also be expanded. The project is scheduled to be finished in November, and it will cost 1.3 million euros.

Changing the pitch, August 3 through 18

The Club also confirmed that new pitch will be brought to the Camp Nou, and a pitch-heating system will be installed this summer. The project will start on August 3 and is scheduled to be complete on August 18. The new pitch will cost the Club 350,000 euros, while the installation of the heat system will cost 505,000 euros.

Straight after attending the 45th Honorary Awards for Catalan Arts at the Palau de la Música, Carles Vilarrubí returned to the Camp Nou for the presentation of the 20th Young Entrepreneurs Awards 2012. The event was also attended by Catalan president Artur Mas, and the Councillor for Culture at the Generalitat, Ferran Mascarell.

Several awards were presented, such as the Junior Achievement Award, which went to the Wifinc project at Col·legi Claret, the Best Linguistic Quality Award, which went to the Group FructusWeb, the Best Business Initiative Award, won by Byhours, and the Young Entrepreneur Award 2012, presented by president Mas, went to Josep Ametller of Casa Ametller.

Carles Vilarrubí, vice president of Barça, explained that "Barça has always stood by the country and public society. Some days we are supporting culture and on other days we support young entrepreneurs in the business world. We always have to be there for young people and businesses. Tonight, we are here for innovators, who are the future of our country … Young people are showing initiative and entrepreneurship at a delicate time like this. Barça supports all these people".

Artur Mas added that “Barça has managed to change everyone’s mentality. Now, at whatever part of the league season, if they score once or twice against us, we don’t act like we used to start thinking that all is lost. We think we can still do it … We have our faith in you.”

The Board of Directors revealed its proposal to modify Club statutes this afternoon. The proposal will be presented for ratification at the next General Assembly, which is set to take place in September of this year. In the next Board of Directors meeting, which is scheduled for July, the Board will refine the text of the proposal and then open it up for Club members to review it.

Club spokesman and secretary of the Board of Directors, Toni Freixa, explained that “we are fulfilling our electoral commitment to give Club members more participation and reinforce the democratic framework of the Club. There are reforms that take power away from the Board and others that give power and reforms that give Club members more participation.” He then said “we have incorporated issues that the Board agreed upon in 2010  and we intend for them to figure in the Club statues because they are positive.”

• Club section (basketball, handball, futsal, roller hockey, etc.) elimination shall be subject to General Assembly ratification.

• Only individuals who have been Club members for at least five years will be able to apply for season tickets, and the waiting list will be regulated.

• The Club’s ticket allotment for sponsor and institutional purposes in finals is fixed at 15%. The ticket distribution system will be changed to favour members who are older or members who often travel with the team for away matches.

• Information that’s given to voting Club members will also be made available to all members.

• Club members will have the right to review deals and agreements made by the Board of Directors and the General Assembly with the exception of confidential agreements, which would hurt the Club’s interest if made public.

• Club members will be obliged to update their information when a census is held. If a member does not update his or her information after a determined amount of time, said member could lose his or her Club member status.

• The Board of Directors will not have the sole power to name notable members, these decisions will now have to be ratified by the General Assembly.

• The position of Protector Members will be eliminated.

• There must be a quorum of two thirds of the attendees to authorize purchases, sales of material goods, or indebtedness that exceeds 20% of the budget.

• Contract concerning image rights, names, symbols or audiovisual rights that exceed five years are now subject to ratification from the Assembly.

• Naming rights for the Camp Nou and the Palau Blaugrana are subject to the ratification from the Assembly.

• The Board of Directors shall have the power to determine the FC Barcelona shirt sponsor, provided they don’t violate the Club's ethics or the historical values of the Club.

• Non-delegate Club members will have access to the name, surname and member number of delegate Club members.

• The General Assembly must coincide with an official match at the Camp Nou.

• The annual audit report will be made available to Club members prior to the General Assembly.

• The Board of Directors will serve a six-year term.

• Among the current voting methods employed at the General Assembly, one will be added: electronic voting.

• The ethics code, approved by the Board of the Directors, which includes a Control and Transparency Commission, will be incorporated into Club statutes.

• The electoral census will be made available to all presidential candidates.

• Electoral campaigns may hold press conferences and distribute promotional material after the appropriate number of signatures has been reached and the candidacy is official.

• Motions of censure shall require a quorum of 15% of Club members or 50% of delegate members.

• The Senate shall meet once a year.

• There shall be a limit to the amount of debt the Club can incur. The Board of Directors shall not engage in accounts that exceed the maximum level of debt – which has not been set as of yet and will be linked to the EBITDA. If the debt levels exceed the debt ceiling, the acting Board of Directors will have two years to rectify the situation. Unsuccessful attempts will result in the early termination of the Board.

• Attempts to resell season tickets or tickets shall be counted as an infraction.

• Reports filed by stadium security during home matches will be presumed to be true.

The FC Barcelona Museum is hosting an exposition dedicated to Salvador Espriu. It’s a small exposition, where Museum attendees can learn about the Catalan author through texts and quotes translated into various languages.

The exposition is located in the hall that’s home to the titles that Barça has won throughout its long and storied history. The Club and the Espriu organisation are expecting the exposition to be successful given the high volume of visitors the Museum welcomes every year.

“Getting close to Catalan culture”

The exposition was presented this Wednesday morning, and FC Barcelona’s institutional vice-president, Carles Vilarrubí, was in attendance. “This corner of the Museum will serve to bring Catalan culture closer to the 1.5 million visitors [we receive each year],” he said. “People who visit us will get a flash of the significance this powerful figure has had on Catalan literature.”

The commissioner of the ‘Año Espriu,’ Xavier Bru de Sala, highlighted Barça’s extraordinary collaboration to make the exposition a reality: “Barça are one of the institutions that have contributed the most to make the purpose of the Año Espriu a reality, which is to bring [his work] beyond those who are interested in learning about culture so that it can reach as many citizens as possible.”

Barça committed to the Año Espriu

FC Barcelona is one of many Catalan institutions that’s committed to celebrate the Año Espriu in 2013, which commemorates the 100-year anniversary of the author’s birth. The Club organised a special tribute to Salvador Espriu before the match between Barça and Levante, which coincided with the festivities of Sant Jordi.

Espriu is one of the most well-known Catalan authors, and the values that guided his life are ones that the Club holds dear: Catalan identity, universality, social commitment and democracy.

The II Catalan Football Congress got underway this Wednesday morning at FC Barcelona’s Ciutat Esportiva, where 88 accredited football managers followed the training sessions of Barça's youth teams. At 17.00 the managers watched the Juvenil B team on Field 9 and at 19.00 they watched the Cadete B and Alevín C teams on the same field, later on they were present at the Infantil B and Benjamín C and D training sessions on Field 8.

After the training sessions, the managers got a chance to speak with the Barça managers about the training methodology employed at Can Barca.

Friday, presentation in the Sala París

The congress, which is set to run from the 12th through the 15th of June, will continue on this Thursday with more practice sessions at RCD Espanyol’s Ciutat Esportiva. On Friday the managers will return to FC Barcelona to follow Víctor Sánchez and Joan Vilà’s presentation on Barça’s youth system training methodology.

The II Catalan Football Congress is organised by the INEFC, the Catalan Federation of Football, RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona.

For yet another year at FC Barcelona, the ‘Meeting&Events’ department has inaugurated the ‘Platea’ in the Camp Nou, a large terrace on the first tier of the grandstand with wonderful views over the field and which is included in the wide selection of different rooms and spaces that the Club can offer for corporate or private events.

Open until July 27, when the stadium has to be prepared for competitions, the ‘Platea’ in the Camp Nou is now available for corporate presentations, gala dinners, cocktail receptions, shows, ceremonies and other events. The first of these was the presentation of the XX Young Entrepreneur Awards 2012, which were attended by the president de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Artur Mas, and the vice president of the Institutional Area, Carles Vilarrubí.

The Camp Nou ‘Platea’ is a spacious 410 m2 terrace. Depending on the type of event, it can accommodate from 350 people at a cocktail reception to 1,500 people in auditorium format.

The Camp Nou opened the doors of its stadium this Thursday to the stars of a different sport. Instead of Messi in attack, it was Marc Márquez and the place of Dani Alves was taken by Maverick Viñales. For the riders involved in the forthcoming Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya this was the chance to play some football on the famous Barça turf.
 
Some of the biggest stars on the circuit, even though none of Rossi, Lorenzo or Pedrosa were present, came onto the pitch with the FCB anthem playing in the background. The game was played twenty minutes each way, and involved plenty of high spirits, but fierce competitiveness too. Under the watchful eye of Manel Arroyo, a member of the Barça board and also executive director of Media de Dorna, the teams were divided into MotoGP against Moto2 & Moto3.  
 
Márquez: “As a Barça fan, this was a real thrill”
 
The higher cylinder riders came out tops, 4-3 with goals from Dovizioso, De Puniet, Márquez and Bradl with Pol Espargaró, Cortese and Simeón finding the net for the losing side. Speaking to Barça TV, Marc Márquez spoke about the experience. “Not everyone gets the chance to play at the Camp Nou” he commented. “I was delighted to accept, and being a Barça fan, it was a real thrill”.
 
All of the goals were scored in the first half. In the second, the stifling heat clearly started taking its toll, but the high spirits of the day were never dampened, and afterwards both teams gathered for a group photo.

President Sandro Rosell held a press conference in the Auditorium 1899 this Thursday afternoon to talk about the 2012/13 season. After the conference, the FC Barcelona president fielded questions from the gathered reporters, here’s an overview of his answers:

Camp Nou

“We estimate that in two or three years we will be able to begin construction on a new stadium, a new Palau and a new campus.”

Tito Vilanova

“He’s doing well. We know that he’ll have to return to New York for a couple of weeks for routine check-ups. No doctor has said that he cannot continue to be a manager.”

“The decision that makes us most proud is standing by Tito and keeping him as manager when news of his illness became public.”

“Tito plays an absolute role in the team planning.”

Víctor Valdés

“His agent told our sporting director that the keeper intends to fulfill his contract and we’re very pleased he’s decided to do so. We are not looking for a new keeper for the upcoming season. We’ll look for a keeper in a year, when his contract is up.”

Éric Abidal

“I believe the Club has treated Abidal well and was able to distinguish between the two facets [of Abidal’s situation]. When he was ill we renewed his contract and when he was cured we treated him like a footballer, which is what they asked of us. The Club acted exquisitely well in both regards.”

Leo Messi

“I’ve spoken to Messi’s family. They are very calm and we are too. We give them all our support and we have no doubt that they are completely innocent.”

Joan Laporta

“I haven’t talked about ex-president Laporta in three years and I’ll continue to not talk about him for three more.”

Thiago Alcántara

“I hope Thiago follows in Xavi, Iniesta, and Sergio’s footsteps... Now they are recognised by the world. It took time for all of them to become regular starters, there’s a lot of competition. I would like it if he had the patience the others had.”

Neymar

“We don’t have any problems explaining the 57 million euros it cost [to sign the player], but we have some confidentiality clauses that we cannot break. If other parties want to explain, we have no problem if they do so.”

“Neymar’s signing was a sporting priority and he’s a footballer that excites Barcelonistas, as we saw when he was presented.”

Thiago Silva

“We know, given the difficulty of negotiating with a team that doesn’t want to sell, that the signing, if not impossible, is very difficult.”

“His salary is very high and it would break the salary structure of the team. We don’t know how much the player costs.”

Sandro Rosell gave an overview of the 2012/13 season this Thursday. The president of the Club started
the press conference with a word of remembrance for Enrique Orizaola, who recently passed away and was the team manager in the Berne final. “We’ve completed a very intense and complicated season. We’ve overcome very difficult situations from the human perspective. We’ve taken on very demanding sporting challenges and we’ve had to make difficult decisions,” said Rosell.

“The priority of our management of Barça is to perpetuate the sporting results and to make sure the Club is economically sustainable,” explained Rosell, who added that “we’re adopting a management model that adjusts to the reality that surrounds us, that’s viable, sustainable and responsible.”

More sponsorship revenue

One of the points the FC Barcelona president highlighted during his press conference was the increase in revenue due to sponsorships. “In three seasons we’ve increased our sponsorship revenue by 70%. The revenue the Museum generates has increased by more than 25%, going from 20 to 25 million, with 1.5 million visitors per year,” explained Rosell, who added: “it’s the model of athletic excellence that allows us to sign players like Neymar or Karabatic, who choose Barça over other clubs that have offered more money.”

Surplus

“With one and a half months to go before the fiscal year is over, I can say that we expect a surplus of 30 million euros, which is in compliance with the budget approved by the General Assembly. This is the second consecutive year we have had a surplus and this reinforces our conviction that this should be the norm and not the exception so that we can guarantee our property model, which is in the hands of Club members,” said Rosell, who went on to say Barça are the leading Club on social networks.

In FCB Street Run, you will try to run as far as you possibly can without getting caught by a group of crazed autograph-seeking fans. But that’s not everything you’ll have to deal with, while you try to escape, you will also have to overcome a host of obstacles and surprises that will inevitably block your path. You’ll be able to acquire new abilities, like footballs, cups and crests, and unlock clues that will help you along your trek through Barcelona. FCB Street Run, which is available in Catalan, Spanish and English on iOS devices, allows you to play as any first team player on FC Barcelona’s roster. In addition, you’ll be able to personalise your selected player with historic Barça strips and upgrades that will help you as you try to escape. This new game also syncs with Game Center and social networks, so you’ll be able to test your mettle against your friends.

FCB Street Run Download it!

With Barça’s seal of quality

Dídac Lee, director responsible for new technologies at FC Barcelona, says “entertainment is important among aficionados of mobile applications. With FCB Street Run, users will find a fun application. This application carries Barça’s seal of quality, it brings the FCB Apps Program full circle and it consolidates the Club’s leadership strategy in mobile applications and in the football industry.”

FCB Street Run is the third application borne out of the FCB Apps Program, which will close out its first iteration after launching FCB Capball and FCB Fitness. The FCB Apps Program, in collaboration with FC Barcelona Digital, has allowed developers and businesses to develop and commercialise their applications under FC Barcelona’s brand.

13 official applications

FCB Street Run brings the number of official FC Barcelona applications to 13. In addition to FCB Street Run, Barça’s official applications are as follows: FCB Capball, FCB iCroms Evolution, FCB Fitness, FCB Starscup, FCBFantasy Manager 2013, FCB Team Cam, FCB World, FCB Toons Town, FCB Regal Shootout, FCB Live!, FCB World Tap, FCB Watch! and FCB Connect.

The last week of June finishes with the final of the Confederations Cup in Brazil, with Spain taking on the hosts in a game that could feature up to 11 Barça players and rounds off seven days of news which we detail below:

MONDAY 24 JUNE

World Number One Leo Messi celebrates his 26th birthday after a year in which he has scored a record number of goals and also scored against every team in the league.

TUESDAY 25 JUNE

Barça Alusport celebrated their league play off title win over ElPozo Múrcia in a club in Barcelona. This is Marc Carmona’s side’s third straight league title.

WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE

Details of the Barça B pre-season were announced, with the youngsters starting pre-season training on July 12th ahead of three friendlies against Escala, Llagostera and Banyoles.

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In the evening, Neymar and Alves help Brazil to a 2-1 win over Uruguay in the Confed Cup semi finals.

THURSDAY 27 JUNE

The Club announces that Navarro will be operated on by Doctor Niek Van Dijkon July 18th for his ankle injury and will be out for about two months.

With six Barça players starting, Spain beat Italy on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes to reach the Confed Cup Final

FRIDAY 28 JUNE

Joan Francesc Ferrer, 'Rubi', was officially announced as Tito Vilanova’s new assistant, after signig a one year contract with the option of a further season.

It was also announced that Neymar’s ex-team Santos would be Barça’s opponents in this season’s Gamper Trophy.

SATURDAY 29 JUNE

In an interview with Barça TV, Xavi Pascual looked back over the season and claimed: “I can’t remember a season like this one for injuries – it was incredible”

The Barça handball team will play against PSG, Vardar Skopje, Wacker Thun and Celje in next season’s EHF Champions League, alongside two more teams who get through the qualification phases. The draw was held in Vienna.

Qatar Airways, which will become the club’s main world sponsor on July 1, will also be the title sponsor of FC Barcelona’s tour of Asia in August in which the team will be playing a match in Bangkok on the 7th against the Thai national team and another in Malaysia on the 10th in Kuala Lumpur against a selection of the best players in the country.

This will be Barça’s first ever trip to Malaysia, but the team is returning to Thailand after previously playing a friendly there in 2002. There is huge expectation about the chance to see the Barça stars in action and both stadiums are expected to be packed for the games, namely the Rajamangala national stadium in Bangkok and the Bukit Jalil national stadium in Kuala Lumpur, with the capacity for 50,000 and 100,000 spectators, respectively.

Sandro Rosell, president of FC Barcelona, has announced how pleased he is that the Club “is returning to Asia this summer with Qatar Airways. We are very much looking forward to seeing our Thai friends again and returning to their country for the first time in more than ten years. This tour will also enable us to visit Malaysia for the first time, where we know we have a lot of dedicated supporters. We want to feel close to them, especially the children, and for them to enjoy the team and our players, and get to know our club better, a club unlike any other in the world, and also our country. We thank Qatar Airways for their support, as we visit these fans that have dreamed for long about the chance to see our players live.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, Al Baker, highlights how both the airline and Barça “have an important fan base in the southeast of Asia. We are happy to be able to work with our partner, FC Barcelona, to arrange this trip to one of the parts of the world where there are the most fans. Both fans of Qatar Airways and Barça can expect to see pride and passion in everything we strive to do as individual organisations and as partners. We are excited about forming part of the FC Barcelona family and welcoming the club into our own.”

Facebook contest

To bring the more than one million fans on their official Facebook site closer to Barça, Qatar Airways has set up a competition on its page in which the winners will be going on a trip to watch Tito Vilanova’s side play live. The airline’s Facebook fans can also win such prizes as signed shirts and VIP match tickets, and even an invitation to meet two players at a private autograph session. The competition ends on July 31.

Barça has more than 43 million fans on Facebook around the world, making it the most followed sports team on this social network. In terms of numbers, their Malaysian and Thai fans are 15th and 22nd in the list respectively.

The new deal was signed by FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell and the MoraBanc representative Giles Serra. Club Vice-President with responsibility for economy and strategy, Javier Faus was also present, as was MoraBanc Director General Carles Sasplugas.

The two organisations began their collaboration in February 2010, when they signed their first sponsorship deal and the relationship has proved highly satisfactory for both parts. MoraBanc have enjoyed the advantages of an exclusive deal in the banking sector in Andorra and have used the Club logo and name in its products and advertising.

MoraBanc is an Andorran financial group, which was set up in 1952, with 100% family and local capital from the founding family. The group provides commercial banking services, private banking, wealth management, investment funds and insurance. Its commitment to internationalgrowth has led them to establish a presence in Zurich, Miami, Montevideo and Dubai.

Although the process for updating the membership lists was originally meant to end on June 30, Toni Freixa announced on Tuesday that, exceptionally, FC Barcelona members will now have until October 30, 2013 to update and normalise their details. "Some 100,000 members, 60% of the total, have already done it” said the secretary and spokesman for the board. Asked what will happen to members who fail to update their details, Freixa answered that "following the reforms made to the Statutes, we can cancel those memberships. However, we understand that Barça members will have no problems accrediting who they are. I don’t think there will be any need for such drastic measures”.

Freixa added that the new statutes will shortly be being presented for acceptance. "On Monday we were visited by the president of the Statutes Reform Commission and we are looking to finalise the last details before we can publish the definitive text” he said at this special conference to report on Monday’s board meeting.

New sponsorship agreements

On a separate issue, he commented that "in relation to marketing and commercial actions, we shall shortly be announcing new sponsorship agreements which will suppose some two million euros in additional income for the club.”

On the same subject, Freixa also spoke about the sponsorship situation of the non-football teams at the club. “There might be one sponsor for all of the sections, or we might continue with the current formula, with one sponsor for each section” he said.

Other board agreements

The following are other agreements made at Monday’s board meeting and announced on Tuesday by Toni Freixa in the Ricard Maxenchs pressroom:

- Remove numbers from certain parking places for the highest attendance fixtures. This will involve a reduction of 36% in the cost for rent of the affected parking places. The cost of the other parking places will be increased by 2.4%.

- Outsource the turnstile system in order to improve the quality of the service.

- The Board homologated 18 new Barça supporters clubs, six of which are international.

1.- First skills of Neymar at Camp Nou

2.- Neymar arrives to Barcelona

3.- Brillant goal of Alexia

4.- First day of Neymar in FC Barcelona

5.- Neymar in front of the photoographers