Want to win a signed kit from the first team players? ‘Barça Fans’ is the official community of Club members and FC Barcelona fans, and if you register, your name will be entered into a draw to win one of three Barça kits signed by Messi, Neymar, Piqué, Xavi, and company. In addition, being a ‘Barça Fan’ means that you get discounts on official Barça gear, get access to exclusive content and much, much more.

Fans must fill out this form by September 15 in order to participate in the draw. The draw will take place on September 30 and the names of the three winners will be published online.

Terms and conditions.

Neymar da Silva was FC Barcelona’s big-name signing for the 2013/14 season. The arrival of the Brazilian means that the club has secured the rights to one of the most sought-after players on the international market, as well as providing the ideal solution to one of the coaching staff’s most pressing requirements. The August/September issue of Barça Magazine includes a cover story on a player whose dream has come true by signing for Barça, and playing alongside the likes of the indisputably greatest player in the world, Leo Messi, and such stars as Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Alexis and the rest of a team that has added so much to the Barça legend.

Secrets revealed

Issue 64 of Barça Magazine presents all the inside details of Neymar’s transfer from Santos, and looks back at some of the anecdotes related to the long series of negotiations. The article examines the relations and emotions that were at play in the battle to bring Neymar to Barcelona despite other clubs offering much higher fees for the Brazilian. When did he first hear FCB president Sandro Rosell speaking about the matter? When did Neymar make his first vow that he’d be playing for Barça? When did Guardiola and Tito receive Zubizarreta’s first reports on the player? When did Barça first attempt to make contact with the player? When did Barça and Santos first agree terms for the move? How did Neymar’s own father respond to the possibility of his son playing for Barça? All this and more will be revealed in the new edition of the Barça Magazine.

Unpublished material

The issue also includes brand new anecdotes and pictures from Neymar’s first day in Barcelona, and his official presentation, while university professor Miquel de Moragas presents a fascinating analysis of the media dimension of the Messi-Neymar tandem in the Barça attack. The magazine also looks at the charitable side of Neymar, expressed through his foundation, the Projeto Neymar Jr, and how the Brazilian and Barça will be working together to further boost their leadership on social networks.

Força, Tito

The issue also includes the open letter that Tito Vilanova sent to FC Barcelona’s members and fans after he had decided to resign from the manager’s position to concentrate instead on his health. He has been replaced by Argentinian Tata Martino, who will be the protagonist of the next issue of the magazine, which comes out in October.

The reform of the Statutes, which will be voted by the delegates at the next Assembly, the financial review of the year, and an interview with doctor Josep Sánchez de Toledo, head of Child Oncology at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital and named Catalan of the Year, are other articles in this latest issue of a magazine that will sent directly to the homes of Barcelona members.

All about Neymar

The best videos of Neymar da Silva

FC Barcelona has more than a million subscribers to its YouTube channel, making it the first football club to reach seven figures, and consolidating Google’s social videos site as the main method for sharing multimedia material with Barça fans around the world.

Since it was created in 2006, the club’s official channel has presented more than 5,500 videos, equating to 185 million views and more than 153 million minutes of watching. It is the most popular sports channel in Spain and the second biggest in the world after that of the NBA.

Consolidation in 2013

In 2013, the official YouTube channel reaffirmed its global leadership among sports clubs with almost half of the current million subscribers having signed up in 2013 (447,000). Last June smashed all previous records with an astonishing 11.7 million views, with the presentation of Neymar being one of the most watched sports videos ever on YouTube.

Varied content

First team training sessions, match highlights, promotional and institutional events, music videos, unseen footage, goals scored by youth teams, action involving the club’s other sports teams, and much more content, much of it exclusive, have helped to boost interest in this multilingual channel, which this season has started to offer live broadcasts of press conferences given by the players and staff and #CampNouLive, a formula for bringing Barça and its players closer to their fans around the world through videos and Google+ hangouts.

The five most watched videos, all of which had over two million views, were:

1. Camp Nou tribute to Pep Guardiola

2. Justin Bieber trains with the first team

3. Neymar appears at the club for the first time

4. Thank you Pep!

5. A goal with Barça DNA

FC Barcelona and the City of Barcelona have reached an agreement which will guarantee public transport to and from the Camp Nou for the Spanish Super Cup, the match is scheduled for next Wednesday at 23.00. The agreement stipulates that FC Barcelona will contribute 30,000 euros to subsidise the cost of extending the metro’s operational hours so that fans can use the public transport system to watch the match at the Camp Nou.

The City of Barcelona, through Mayor Xavier Trias, asked the Spanish Federation if the match could be held at a more reasonable time, but the petition was denied. The City and FC Barcelona have worked to find a satisfactory solution, which has resulted in the monetary contribution made by the Club.

FC Barcelona have no part in the designation of kick off times. But given the inconvenience a 23.00 kick off time can have on the Club’s members and fans, FC Barcelona have worked to find a solution to the necessity of having public transport available beyond the established normal hours of operation set by the City of Barcelona.

Mayor Trias thanked FC Barcelona for its sensibility to find a solution to the mobility needs generated by the Spanish Super Cup match and declared that the Club once again has shown its commitment to the city. The City of Barcelona highlights the importance of the agreement and it reiterates the necessity to continue working with all affected parties to address changes in football schedules.

FC Barcelona now has more than six million followers on Google+. The Club remains the leading sporting institution on Google’s social network and have seen a remarkable growth over the last few months. Barça was the first Spanish League Club to unveil its official profile on the social network in November 2011 and is the leading sports club on Google+, ahead of teams such as Chelsea FC, Real Madrid or Manchester City. The Club boasts nearly 75 million followers across all social network platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube, Tencent, Instagram and Pinterest).

Last season saw Google+ become a new tool for bringing the Club ever closer to its fans all over the world. Via Google+ Hangout under the name #CampNouLive, a number of players, such as Gerard Piqué, Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano and Xavi Hernández have answered fans’ questions in digital encounters and of course supporters can also follow all the news about the Club, with videos and photos on the Google+ site.

Dídac Lee believes the social networks: “are a way to bring Barça closer to every one of our supporters” and sees them as an indicator of the Club’s image: “it’s more than just the numbers - Barça have become a reference point on the social networks we are present on. Consolidating our position as leaders on Google+ and on Tencent Weibo are evidence of the Club’s good health”.

Sr Lee also expressed his satisfaction at the Club’s presence on YouTube, where it recently reached one million subscribers.

A new advert was unveiled this morning during the presentation of the partnership between FC Barcelona and Qatar Airways. The spot features some of Barça’s first team players like Piqué, Neymar, Messi, Puyol, Iniesta, Mascherano, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

Gary Lineker, who played for Barça in the 1980s, also makes a cameo.

The Auditorium 1899 was the venue on Tuesday for the official presentation of the partnership between FC Barcelona and Qatar Airways, which since July 1 has been the club’s official global partner. The agreement will be in force until June 30, 2016, when the contract signed in 2010 with Qatar Sports Investment comes to an end. “We are united by research and excellence. Qatar Airways, through all of its services, and us, in terms of sport”, stated Sandro Rosell.

The Barça president highlighted that other than economic benefits, this is also a new way of reaching the club’s worldwide fan base. “We have 300 million fans around the world and thanks to Qatar Airways we can build connections with them. Also, Qatar Airways’ relation with Barcelona Airport is getting more important every day. Thanks to them, thousands of international supporters will be coming in the future to Barcelona to discover its sights, but also to enjoy the experience of visiting our club”.

Faus: “The agreement opens new markets”

Barcelona Airport was, according to Javier Faus, the vice-president for economy and strategy, one of the key factors for accepting the change of name on the shirt, when it was proposed that Qatar Airways should feature instead of Qatar Foundation. “It is the biggest shirt deal ever” he said. “There are payments to come of 30.5, 32 and 33.5 million euros. And there is also a bonus of five million euros if we win the Champions League and we hope we can do just that in the next three years.”

“The agreement opens new markets that we were finding it hard to get to. It offers worldwide coverage that will help our marketing department”, continued Faus, who explained that the main partner deal involves some 50 to 60 different potential assets. “Qatar Foundation did not make use of them all, but Qatar Airways will. Now there’s the façade of the stadium. The Qatar Airways logo will appear on the seats, next to the Nike logo, and there’ll be a space for them in the Museum. All sponsorship deals around the world include things like these”.

Barça coloured planes

Akbar Al-Baker, executive director of Qatar Airways, added that “We share values, ambitions, courage and excellence with FC Barcelona. We also have a lot of social commitments. We will be using this partnership to help us in many areas”. One of these will be the painting of some of the fleet, 777 and 787 models, in the Barça colours. “We’ll be displaying Barça at all the world’s major airports”, said the director of Qatar’s main airline.

Al-Baker was impressed by the 2013 Asian Tour, and had nothing but praise for the club. “It has the biggest fan base in the world and that’s why wanted to associate ourselves with Barça. It is one of the best institutions on the planet”.

Assembly to vote on any extensions

Javier Faus added that the new FC Barcelona statutes that will be presented at the next Assembly state that any renewal of this contract will have to be voted on by the club members. Faus and Rosell also added that the contract might have been signed with Qatar Sports Investment, which own Paris Saint Germain, but this does not imply any kind of special relationship with the French football club. The president also made it clear that “this has been the most democratic agreement we have ever made, and was passed at two assemblies, at the second with 90% of the votes.”

On Tuesday evening at the Camp Nou, just before the first team training session, there will be a photo session involving the Barça players and coaches. Then at 19.00, the Club and Qatar Airways will be offering a reception to guests from the media in the museum.

Just before this afternoon’s training session at the Camp Nou ahead of tomorrow’s Super Cup showdown with Atlético Madrid, the first team and Qatar Airways, FC Barcelona’s global partner, met on the pitch. The meeting, which was attended by many members of the Club’s board of directors, started off with a few words from Akbar Al Baker. “This is a historic day for Qatar. With Barça we’re creating opportunities through sport,” he said.

Sandro Rosell highlighted the importance this partnership with Qatar Airways has for the Club. “We’re very pleased and honoured. For example, the spot that was unveiled this Tuesday was a success and it’s been viewed by millions of people,” explained the Barça president, who added “we’re mutually helping each other.” After Rosell and Al Baker concluded, the Barça president and the Qatar Airways executive director exchanged gifts – Rosell presented Al Baker with a Barça kit signed by the first team players.

The first team jumps in

The first team players then posed for the Qatar Airways partnership official photo. Messi, Neymar, Xavi, Iniesta and company stood side by side with Rosell and Al Baker on the pitch of the Camp Nou. The players were later joined by the children from FCB Escola, who got the chance to get photographed with their role models.

On Tuesday, the new commercial for FC Barcelona and Qatar Airways was shown at the official presentation of the new partnership. In just 24 hours, the ad was already proving a huge hit with the fans with over 1,800,000 visits to the English and Catalan versions of the club’s official YouTube channel.

It only took a day for the video starring Messi, Piqué, Puyol, Neymar and the other big stars to be seen by almost two millions users in the two languages.

From Wednesday, the Qatar Airways commercial, which visually expresses how one of the world’s biggest football clubs and one of the world’s biggest airlines have come together in a global partnership using the slogan ‘a team that unites the world’, started appearing on some of the world’s biggest TV networks.

FCB Fan Alert is a PC application that keeps you updated in real time with news about your favourite team. Get the very latest info, photos and much more direct on the sidebar that you install on your browser.

You can browse the Internet and receive instant updates whenever there’s any new news, photos or videos, when tickets go on sale, etc. In short, you’ll be first to know what’s happening at FC Barcelona

New technologies, new connectivity

FC Barcelona is continuing to tighten its bond with members and fans through the use of as many new technologies as possible. Optimised products and services on a variety of channels and supports are helping to establish new contacts, provide users with unique experiences, offer benefits to the Barça community and increase the visibility and proximity of the Club.

FCB Fan Alert

This Thursday, August 29, work began to install an undersoil heating system at the Camp Nou. In addition to the heating system, the pitch itself will be cycled out for pitch from Bordeaux . The company SIS, along with VB Group and FC Barcelona, will install the new hydraulic system which consists of two boilers and more than 35 kilometers of pipes.

The new system will allow the pitch to stay between 6 and 13 degrees, which ensures constant pitch growth and proper maintenance. The installation process will run through September 4, and the new pitch will be installed on September 7 and 8.

It’s worth noting that the undersoil heating system is currently being used by 14 of the Dutch league’s 18 teams, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven among them. Shakhtar Donetsk, Copenhagen and Schalke also use the system.

1.- Qatar Airways and FCB. A team to bring the world together

2.- Barça's presentation for 2013/14

3.-  Xavi in training

4.- Neymar playing Street Football in Kuala Lumpur

5.- Neymar with the Joan Gamper Trophy

FC Barcelona, a worldwide leader in social media, have created an account on Line, a Japanese instant messenger application adapted for mobile phones, PCs and Macs whose popularity has allowed it to surge to over 230 million users around the world.

FC Barcelona fans who have the mobile application can follow the Club’s updates in Catalan, Spanish, English and Portuguese. Starting on September 5, users will also be able to get the Club’s updates in Japanese. In addition to news, photos and videos, fans will also be able to download official Barça stickers that feature first team players in order to keep the conversation going with their friends.

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Barça’s presence on Line complements the Club’s leadership in the Asian online market where the team have surpassed the three-million fan mark on Tencent Weibo. In total, FC Barcelona have over 73 million fans and followers across the biggest social networks.

Dídac Lee, FC Barcelona’s New Technologies director, says that “this pioneering endeavour offers Barça a magnificent opportunity to be closer to fans from all over the world” and he especially highlights “the power of Line in the Asian market,” a company he sees as “a very important ally for Barça on the mobile platform.”

Add friend

FC Barcelona has launched a new competition on Instagram, the photography and video social network where the Club has more than 800,000 followers, through which you will be able to form part of the official Barça anthem on the social network and maybe win a first team shirt if your picture is chosen.

The Club will be publishing one photo every day with each of the hashtags on its official profile (www.instagram.com/fcbarcelona ). Pick the photo and hashtag that you like the best and upload it to your own Instagram account. The hashtags will be #Totelcampesunclam, #Gentblaugrana, #tantsevaldeonvenim, #Unabanderaensagermana, #Blaugranaalvent, #uncritvalent, #totsunitsfemforça, #golsquehemcridat, #Barcabarcabarca. The competition closes on September 7 at midnight (Barcelona time), and there is no limit on the number of entries per user.

HimneFCB

Continuing with its promotion of the benefits of healthy living, FC Barcelona alongside the European Commission and European Lung Foundation, will be offering free lung health tests this weekend as part of the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress.

This will be happening from 10.00 to 20.00 on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 of September in Plaça de la Universitat, and the event will be attended by Jordi Monés, the director in chief of the FC Barcelona Medical Services.

In addition to the tests, the public will also be able to visit the “Quit Smoking with Barça” stand and sign up for the campaign. More than 70,000 people from all around Europe have already signed up to quit with the campaign.

Xavi calls for more people to ‘Quit Smoking with Barça’ in new commercial

Ahead of the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress, a new publicity campaign is being launched, with Xavi Hernández featuring in the commercial. After saying how impressed he is that 72,000 people have registered for the “Quit Smoking with Barça” initiative, the Barça midfielder encourages more people to sign up and become ex-smokers. The commercial also tells people that they can start on the road to freedom from tobacco by coming for a free lung text this weekend.

This Thursday, FC Barcelona has put tickets on sale for the Champions League matches to be played at the Camp Nou, namely against Ajax (September 18), AC Milan (October 6) and Celtic (December 11).

For the first 24 hours, only members may make purchases, and they also get a 20% discount.

Tickets for the games with Ajax and Celtic cost between 47 and 149 euros, while those for Milan vary between 58 and 164 euros. They can be bought from any of the usual channels (club website and ticket offices) and each person can buy up to four tickets per match.

Please note that in accordance with UEFA regulations, supporters of the same nationality as the visiting team can only purchase tickets from the club in question.

CAMP NOU TICKETS UEFA Champions League

The commercial for the partnership between Qatar Airways and FC Barcelona, called 'A team that unites the world’ has taken less than 10 days to become the most watched ever on Barça’s official YouTube channel. The English version has been viewed over 2.8 times, and added to the views of the Catalan version (2.2 million) the video has been seen over five million times.

The commercial has also become the most ‘liked’ video on the channel (22,000) and also the most shared (13,000)

World leading channel

FC Barcelona’s YouTube channel is the world leader for sports clubs and a few weeks ago topped the historic figure of a million subscribers after recruiting a massive 500,000 new users in early 2013. Since it was created in 2006, more than 5,600 videos have been seen more than 186 million times.

The 10 most watched videos ever on the FC Barcelona YouTube channel

1. Qatar Airways y FC Barcelona: A team that united the world

2. Camp Nou tribute Guardiola

3. Justin Bieber trains with first team

4. Neymar appears at the club for the first time

5. Thanks Pep!

6. Qatar Airways y FC Barcelona, un equip que uneix al món (CATALAN VERSION)

7. Gol with DNA Barça

8. Messi toasts the Ballon d’Or with Xavi and Iniesta

9. End of the Shakira concert

10. The most emotional anthem at Barça v Real Madrid

This Friday, on the eve of the ERS Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society, an initiative kicked off at the Plaza de la Universidad whereby anyone who wishes can undergo a free lung test. In addition to these tests, there is also information on how to join the “Quit smoking with Barça” campaign.

The director responsible for FC Barcelona’s Medical Services, Jodri Monés, participated in the inauguration of the initiative, which will remain open through Saturday (from 10.00 to 20.00). Franceso Blasi, president of the of the European Respiratory Society; Monica Fletcher, president of the European Lung Foundation; Cristina Blanco Iniesta, delegate of Health and president of the Public Health Agency of Barcelona and Joaquín Geo, president of the European Respiratory Society Congress were all in attendance.

The importance of promoting values

In his address, Monés, who was accompanied by Ramon Canal, chief of the Club’s Medical Services, reiterated the Club’s desire to promote a particular set of values: “The Club is very pleased and proud to take part in this initiative. As you know, in addition to competing, our desire to promote values like good health is part of the Club’s DNA. We’ve shown that we’re committed [to promote good health] with our ‘Barça without smoke’ and ‘Quit smoking with Barça’ campaigns.”

The director responsible for the Club’s Medical Services then went on to talk about the importance of early detection in preventative lung diseases, and he invited all those who wish to take the first step toward a healthier life to undergo a lung test: “There are lung diseases that are preventable, and we’re committed to this campaign so that we can improve lung health not only for Barça fans, but for football fans in general.”

A global campaign

Monica Fletcher highlighted the fact that FC Barcelona are pioneers in the field due to the fact that smoking has been banned at the Camp Nou and that the Club has taken an active role in improving the health of citizens. Fletcher went on to discuss the influence Barça have on a global scale: “The initiative with the European Commission has helped people from all over the world. The campaign has a global reach. You are not aware how far reaching Barça’s message can be.”

With heavy rain showers forecast for the weekend, the work on relaying the new Camp Nou turf began earlier than planned this Friday morning. A total of  24 trailers are set to bring the turf in during the day  from Bordeaux with all 8.000 square metres set to be in position by Saturday lunchtime.

New heating system ready to go

The pitch's new hydraulic heating system -  made up of two boilers and 35 kilometres of under pitch tubing - is already installed and it will ensure that the grass will be constantly between 6 and 13 degrees, to ensure even growth and help maintenance.

The same under soil heating system is employed by 14 of the top 18 Dutch clubs including Ajax and PSV, as well as  Shakhtar Donetsk, Copenhagen and Schalke amongst others.

After Éric Abidal’s statements were reported by L’Equipe, FC Barcelona contacted the player and his representative in order to clarify the confusion created by the phrase “the Club didn’t pay me in the months I was sick.” FC Barcelona want to clarify the following:

- Both parties confirm that the Club duly complied with the contractual commitments stipulated in the player’s contract.

- That in January of 2012, even though the player relapsed and underwent liver transplant surgery two months later, FC Barcelona offered Abidal a contract extension which included a substantial renewal bonus. The extension was signed.

- That in March of 2012, when Abidal’s disease reappeared, the Club did not execute its option to unilaterally rescind the player’s contract per the stipulation in the contract that Abidal signed. By mutual agreement, FC Barcelona and the player suspended the contract until Abidal was medically cleared to play. During this period Abidal continued collecting his agreed upon monthly payments and, upon his return to the first team, he received the proportional sum of his contract.

- In June of 2013, when his contract was due to expire, the Club and Abidal liquidated the contract.