FC Barcelona vice-presidents Javier Faus and Manel Arroyo visited the Doha studios of Al Jazeera and Bein Sports this Wednesday as part of the trip being made by Club officials - and Neymar Jr and Gerard Piqué - to the Qatari capital to mark the launch of the new Qatar Airways ad.

Both Faus and Arroya gave an interview to presenter Bassel Tabbal, at the Bein Sports studios and touched on issues concerning both the Club’s sporting position and institutional matters. The interview will be broadcast as part of the Bein Sports News schedule as well as the channel’s programmes dedicated to the Spanish League.

Bein Sports is a global broadcasting leader with audiences of up to 80 million viewers for some of its sports programmes, particular football, and is present in the Middle East and countries such as France, USA and Australia.

After the Bein visit, Javier Faus then visited the Al Jazeera studios where he was shown round by the head of news Ibrahim Helal, to whom he presented a Barça shirt, and saw both the Arabic and English language newsrooms.  As well as its broadcasts in the Middle East, Al Jazeera – which has become a global leader since its foundation in 1996 - is present in USA and has specific programmes for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Udo Lattek, FC Barcelona coach between 1981 and 1983, has died at the age of 80 in Germany. Lattek arrived at the Club in the summer of 1981 after great success in his homeland as coach of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Borrusia Möchengladbach. In 1974 Lattek coach Bayern Munich to victory in the European and in 1979 he won the UEFA Cup with Borussia Möchengladbach. His impressive CV eventually saw him land at Barça before saying goodbye to the club in March of 1983.

European trophy with Barça

Udo Lattek will be fondly remembered at FC Barcelona for leading the Club to victory in the 1982 European Cup Winners Cup final against Standard Liege at Camp Nou. It was the second time the Club had lifted the trophy in its history and at the time the squad boasted such names as Diego Maradona, Bernd Schuster, Quini, Migueli and Urruti.

Gerard Piqué and Neymar Jr will be taking part in the event from Doha.

Qatar Airways and FC Barcelona have officially launched their new marketing campaign supporting the three-year partnership between the airline and the Club at a joint press conference held in Doha, Qatar.

After the huge success of the first TV spot, The Land of FC Barcelona, depicting the imaginary world of FC Barcelona where Messi taught football skills and Iniesta was an artist, the five-star airline unveiled their second campaign at a press conference held today at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar. In attendance were leading representatives of both organisations: Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, and Vice President of the Economic and Strategic Area at FC Barcelona, Javier Faus. Also, joining the head table, were two of FCBarcelona’s first team players Gerard Piqué and Neymar, who flew to Doha for the event. Also, in attendance was Manel Arroyo, Vice President for the Area of Media at FC Barcelona.

Advert in three different languages

Starring FC Barcelona players Lionel Messi, Neymar, Gerard Piqué, Andrés Iniesta and Luis Suárez, Qatar Airways’ new commercial has the players visiting a number of destinations within the airline’s extensive network including the Maldives, Dallas, Paris and Seoul. The spot which will be aired in English, Arabic and Catalan takes a humourous look at the players participating in a number of different activities at each destination.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are pleased to launch our new campaign, featuring some of the FC Barcelona stars and football greats. We hope that our passengers and football fans around the world enjoy this heart-felt journey as the players travel to a few of Qatar Airways’ destinations.” 

In the year and a half since the partnership took effect, Qatar Airways has launched the hugely successful ‘The Land of FC Barcelona’ campaign, officially sponsored the FC Barcelona Asia tour, introduced the FC Barcelona custom-designed Boeing 777 and launched unique tour and match packages for fans looking to visit Barcelona through the Qatar Airways Holidays Division.

The airline also recently launched the ‘Join The Club’ social media contest, celebrating the first anniversary of the partnership, while giving the opportunity to millions of fans to win exciting prizes, including Qatar Airways flights to attend an FC Barcelona match in Barcelona.

More flights from Qatar to Barcelona

Operating to Barcelona since 2010, Qatar Airways recently announced plans to increase Doha-Barcelona flights to a double-daily service, bringing the frequency up from 10 to 14 flights per week. The increase in service will meet the demand from both cities and give passengers the opportunity to connect with more than 140 destinations in Qatar Airways global network through its state-of-the-art hub in Doha, the Hamad International Airport.

Additionally, Qatar Airways signed an interline agreement with Vueling last September, which is helping to increase the number of passengers to and from Europe, in addition to improving trans-European traffic, and long-haul connections.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 18 years of operation, to the point where today it is flying a modern fleet of 146 aircraft to more than 140 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

A club delegation led by President Josep Maria Bartomeu was in the Vatican City on Thursday to sign an agreement between the FC Barcelona Foundation and the Scholas Occurrentes charity to set up joint educational actions to promote values.  FCB was also represented by vice-president Jordi Cardoner, the vice-presidents of the Foundation, Ramon Pont and Ramon Cierco and director Pau Vilanova.

First in the world

[[DES_1]]The Barça party started the afternoon attending the IV Scholas Occurrentes Congress in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Among other international organisations, Bartomeu signed a collaboration agreement with this Vatican based charity. Pope Francis then joined the meeting and chaired the second part of the event, where he said a few words of gratitude to each of the signees and then took part in a hang out with children from all around the world that are involved in the Scholas project. Francis’ message focused on the use of education as a tool to help the poor and build peace.

The protocol over, Bartomeu and the other FCB representatives were able to chat to Pope Francis and present him with a club shirt bearing his name and the signatures of the first team squad. They thanked the Pontiff for his implication in the caring side of sport, and for this opportunity for Barça to become the first sports club in the world to sign an agreement with Scholas Occurrentes, the Pope’s own project that he set up when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

FC Barcelona were also able to use the moment to present a video introducing the agreement and featuring Mascherano, Suárez and Bartra.

Education in values

The FCB Foundation will be working with Scholas Occurrentes to foster education through different actions. The former will providing schools forming part of the latter with pedagogic materials based on sport and FC Barcelona. It will also be working on the creation of an online version of the FutbolNet project, which seeks to promote positive behaviours, as well running face-to-face classes in Mozambique and Argentina.

The Barçakids project is also involved in the plans, because this alliance will mean its website (www.fcbkids.cat) and didactic materials will be tranlsted into Spanish and English in order for children in other parts of the world to benefit from them too.

Messi and Mascherano, familiar faces

Scholas Occurrentes is a global network of schools promoted by Pope Francis and its aim is to encourage integration at schools around the world, with a special focus on those with limited resources. The project is looking to use new technologies to set up a global classroom for knowledge transfer between countries in which art and sport will play prominent roles as catalysts of social cohesion and peace.

The initiative has been running for less than two years, but has already organised activities that have attracted worldwide attention, including those involving Barça’s two Argentinian players. In fact, the first schools to join the project in August 2013 did so at an event at the Vatican attended by Leo Messi. And last September, Scholas Occurentes held a game for peace in the Olympic Stadium, Rome, where Javier Marcherano was one of many international stars that took part.

The project now connects more than 400,000 schools ion sixty countries.

For further information: http://www.scholasoccurrentes.org/d

Since Swiss watchmaker Maurice Lacroix announced its three-year sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona last year, the company’s presence in association with the club has done nothing but grow. And the crown jewel is the enormous new clock on the stadium scoreboard.

It will be impossible to visit the Camp Nou without spotting the name of Maurice Lacroix. The Official Partner has provided the biggest clock ever to feature in a football stadium. The backlit timepiece is four metres in diameter and features the company logo, which also appears on the LED pitch-side advertising boards.

In addition, Maurice Lacroix showcases have also been installed around the ground. The special collection developed in association with FCB will be on display in the Lateral Antelobby, the Antelobby of Honour, and the North Goal and Roma lounges.

In the Megastore too

The 3.8 million visitors to the club shop will also be able to admire and purchase the FCB branded products, which are also on sale in around 3,000 official Maurice Lacroix retail outlets. The range features an affordable ‘fans’ watch as an entry-level opportunity for Swiss timepiece ownership, as well as a stunning ‘players’ watch and a sophisticated ‘executive’ model.

The watches combine simplicity with the avant-garde and are focused on the men’s market. They are the perfect reflection of masculine elegance in association with a love for the most popular spectator sport in the world.

But there is a lot more to the agreement than that. It is also about international prestige and the union between two very similar corporate missions, which share the same values, stylishness and passion for progress

Barça want to celebrate Valentine’s Day with you and we’ve prepared a very special offer to share with your passion Barça with the person you most love. It means you can enjoy the following matches at special knockdown prices:

- FC Barcelona v Levante, from 29 euros. 15/02/2015 at 5.00pm (CET)

- FC Barcelona v Málaga, from 29 euros. 21/02/2015 at 4.00pm (CET)

- FC Barcelona v Rayo Vallecano, from 23 euros 08/03/2015 at 12.00pm (CET)

Fall in love with the Camp Nou Experience!

You can also enjoy our special Valentines promotion on the Camp Nou Experience (Tour and Museum). We’re offering a 50% discount on two general tickets. But the offer is only valid for the first 100 happy couples.

You have until February 14 and can purchase tickets at the club ticket offices or via the website using the promotional code BFANS.SV

CAMP NOU EXPERIENCE

The FC Barcelona striker entered the history books in the league when he became just the second player in history to score seven goals in a match. Prior to Ladislao Kubala, only Athletic Bilbao player Bata, in a 12-1 victory against Barça, had previously achieved the feat. The Hungarian born legend scored his seven goals in a game against Sporting Gijón at the club’s previous stadium at Les Corts in a game that the blaugranes won 9-0. Kubala scored twice in the first half and then scored another five times in the second half, all of which came in a twenty minute spell at the end of the game. The other two goals of the game came from Manchón and Aloy.

Fernando Daucik’s team, thanks to the show of strength against Sporting, took the lead in the table and never relinquished it as they went on to claim the league title. That season the scored 92 goals in just 30 matches, recording at the time their best ever average in the league of just over three a game. The starting 11 that day against the Asturians was Ramallets; Martín, Biosca, Seguer; Bosch, Segarra; Basora, César, Aloy, Kubala and Manchón.

Find out more about Ladislao Kubala

Josep Suñol i Garriga, the man who was FC Barcelona president between 1935 and 1936, the year in which he was executed by Francoist soldiers in the Serra de Guadarrama, became a Barça member 90 years ago today, on 12 February 1925. The figure of Suñol will be subject to a year long tribute in 2015 in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of his becoming president.

The former blaugrana president was 26 years of age when he decided to become a member of the club that he had identified with for some time due to his social and civic beliefs and his commitment to progressive ideas and Catalanist ideals. It was the time of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera which ruled over the country from 1923 to 1930. The regime was notorious for its hostility to Catalonia and on March 20 it would abolish the ‘Mancomunitat’, a semi-autonomous Catalan institution that had been in place since 1914. Suñol became a member on 12 February 1925 with the number 11138, four days following a 3-0 victory over Sabadell in the Catalan Championship.

Carles Rexach and Ariedo Braida officially joined for the Football Area Technical Commission at a signing at the Club offices with President Josep Maria Bartomeu on Thursday morning.

The Commission is charged with planning next season and Carles Rexach’s knowledge of the Club’s footballing model and its Academy, together with Ariedo Braida’s depth of experience of the international market, should be a guarantee of success.

The Commission’s work will be co-ordinated by first team coach Luis Enrique and Academy Director Jordi Roura.

 The Commission Members

Jordi Mestre

Born in Barcelona on 14 September 1962, he studied at IESE and has a Masters Degree from EADA. Sr Mestre is President of Expo Hotels & Resorts, which amongst others hotels owns Hotel Princesa Sofía, Torre Catalunya i Expo, Expo València, Mare Nostrum Resort and Hotel Don Carlos. He is also the coordinating vice-president of the Gremi d’Hotels de Barcelona and a member of the executive committee of Barcelona Turisme.

Director of the professional sections and responsible for the Futsal area, Sr Mestre is the Club’s representative at the Professional Football League  (LFP) and the Spanisn Football Federation (RFEF).

Javier Bordas

Born in Barcelona on 5 March 1961, and a graduate of ESADE, Sr Bordas is President of the Grupo Costa Este, which is dedicated to entertainment and restaurants. He has previously worked in the family firm of Coymsa and in the marketing department of Gallina Blanca.

Carles Rexach

Technical assessor to the FC Barcelona President since 2010. Born in Barcelona on 13 January 1947, Carles Rexach played all of his professional football at FC Barcelona, playing a total of 665 games for the Club and scoring 211 goals. After retiring in 1981, he joined the training staff of the academy teams and went on to become assistant to Luis Aragonés (1987-88) and Johan Cruyff (1988-96) before taking the top job during the 2001.02 season.

Ariedo Braida

Ariedo Braida was born in Precenicco (Italy) in 1949 and after playing for a number of Italian league sides he spent more than 25 year as sporting director at AC Milan (1986-2013) and was one of the main architects of Arrigo Sacchi's legendary teams. He spent last year at Sampdoria.

The CBS journalist died on Wednesday in a car accident in New York at the age of 73. During more than 47 years with the American channel, Bob Simon received more than 40 prestigious awards for his work, including no less than 27 Emmys.

In 2012 Simon came to Barcelona to work on a special report that attempted to explain just how much of the Club’s sporting success was due to its youth football structure. The journalist took particular interest in Leo Messi, a point of reference as a footballer and also of importance personally given the veteran broadcaster’s grandson Jack was also a big fan of the Argentine.

As part of the report, CBS cameras recorded footage of everyday life at La Masia and also recorded interviews with the then president Sandro Rosell, the sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, as well as players Leo Messi, Xavi Hernández, Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué, all of whom graduated from the Club’s youth football system.

Worldwide success

The success of the 60 minutes, which is broadcast in more than 100 countries all around the world with a weekly audience of 16 million viewers just in North America, with their first special about Barça, led to the commissioning of a second very similar special in 2013, focussed solely on the sporting aspect under the name of ’60 minutes sports’.

The main focus of this new television report was Leo Messi. The Barça number 10, whom they referred to as the “best player in the world” in the trailer for the programme, was interviewed by Simon for the examination of his career as a whole and of his goalscoring figures for the year of 2012.

Simon enjoyed a long and brilliant career as a journalist. For almost five decades as a reporter he covered conflicts all over the globe in places such as Vietnam, Northern Ireland, and the Middles East. At the time of his death he was busy working on a report with his daughter Tanya about the Ebola virus and the search for a cure.

The long awaited auction for the ‘1 in 11’ project took place on Thursday evening with great success as around 3 million Euros were raised for Unicef educational projects to promote education via sport in Bangladesh, Nepal and Indonesia. The aim is to contribute to reducing the figure of 58 million children who are without the opportunity to go to school, an average of 1 in every 11 children in the world.

The auction was attended by representatives from Unicef and Rota and on behalf of FC Barcelona, vice presidents of the Foundation Ramon Pont and Ramon Cierco, as well as the member of the board of directors Silvio Elias and former Barça player José Edmílson.

Blaugrana works of art

The artists that took part in this charity auction were invited to donate one of their existing works or create a new one inspired by Barça. Three of the artists, Takashi Murakami, Damien Hirst and Francesco Vezzoli opted for the second option.

Leo Messi, the face of the ‘1 in 11’ project, is the main focus of two of the artistic creations. The first sees the Argentine as the subject of Tokyo artist Takashi Murakami’s work ‘Lionel Messi and a universe of flowers’ (2014), in which the Barça number 10 appears surrounded by flowers known as ‘Kaikai Kiki’, typical in the works of the Japanese artist. Murakami also designed a special football for the event that was signed by Leo Messi and also formed part of the auction.

Secondly. the Barça number 10 has also been the inspiration for the ‘Beautiful spinning painting of Messi for 1 in 11’ (2014), the work of no less than Damien Hirst, one of the most highly valued living artists in the world.

Finally, the Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli took inspiration in the figure of Gerard Piqué and the classical world to create his work ‘Portrait of Gerard Piqué as the Apollo of Belvedere.’ The artist has reproduced the face of the Barça defender on a bust of the sculpture of the Apollo of Belvedere.

Aside from paintings, the catalogue was also honoured with works in glass, in furniture and photography that have been donated by international figures such as Cai Guo Qiang, Dia Azzawi, El Seed, Etel Adnan, Jeff Koons, Jenny Holzer, Luc Tuymans, Manal Al Dowayan, Marc Newson, Richard Serra, Shirin Neshat, Wael Shawky, Yan Pei-Ming and Yousef Ahmad.

GÉRARD BOUQUENET, Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships, UNICEF

“Everyone participating in '1 in 11' — the FC Barcelona foundation as well as Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) and Unicef — are absolutely thrilled with the amount raised by the auction. All children, wherever they live, have the right to learn, play, and grow. Tonight, art and football have joined together in a unique partnership to help ensure that more children can enjoy those rights."

RAMON PONT, Vice-president of the FCB Foundation

"It was extraordinary. It's a spectacular number, and we are very happy. For the FCB Foundation, the alliance with UNICEF is a priority and, for this reason, we are very satisfied with the reach of '1 in 11' — which today is at its peak. Values are a universal language and sport is a perfect bullhorn. This project is at the behest of this cause. The auction today in London is a victory for those who believe in sport as a social tool. It is a game in which the Foundation and Unicef never be defeated. Sotheby's has high expectations. But today, in addition to the artworks and the stars who have inspired them, the true protagonists are the children of Nepal, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, who will find it easier to go to school and fulfil their dreams."

JOSÉ EDMÍLSON, ex-player of FC Barcelona

"The fundraising was fantastic. These works of art are wonderful. The artists are at the same level as Barça's players, because they really are that good. Messi is a good inspiration because he's been doing huge things — supernatural things — at Barça for ten years. He has inspired some brilliant paintings."

The president of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, gave a statement on Friday morning at the Audiencia Nacional (National Court) in relation to the signing of Neymar. The president was accompanied by his lawyer, the expert in criminal law, José Ángel González Franco.

In the evidence given in front of the judge Pablo Ruz, President Bartomeu gave explanations to all about which he was questioned. In particular, he defended the decisions taken in the matter, always in consultation with the Club’s financial advisers.

He made it clear that it has never been his intention, nor that of the Club’s executives, to aim to defraud the National Tax Office.

Additionally, the Club, through its lawyer Cristóbal Martell, has informed the judge that in the next few days a legal representative will be appointed to represent the Club.

The statement by the FC Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, before the  Audiencia Nacional (National Court) took more than three hours on Friday morning. The president answered questions from the judge, the public prosecutor, the State prosecutor, the Club lawyer and his defence lawyer. The lawyer for the former president Sandro Rosell abstained from questions.

Josep Maria Bartomeu explained to the judge that the signing of Neymar, Sandro Rosell, in light of his greater knowledge of the football market, led negotiations with the player’s father. President Bartomeu, at that time sporting vice president, stated that he did not involve himself in the negotiations with the player’s father. In addition, he pointed out that once the negotiations were over, he received the contracts and he endorsed them, without noticing any possible area of financial risk.

According to Josep Maria Bartomeu’s statement, both he and Sandro Rosell at the time gave orders to pay tax on the agreement reached in line with the guidelines set out by the Club’s financial advisers at all times.

Regarding the accusation of unlawful administration, the now president Bartomeu requested a study of all the signing’s contracts with instructions to be extremely careful and to take no risks at all. The study recommended standardising tax matters which took place in February 2014.

As of today, the quantities paid by FC Barcelona to the tax authorities go beyond what is required in any interpretation of tax law.

The Club hopes and is confident that the statement will contribute to highlight the correct way in which the organisation acted in this matter.

FC Barcelona have had a busy week on and off the field. The kick off time for the league clash with Real Madrid was announced, Cup victory against Villarreal was recorded and the FC Barcelona Foundation played an important part in a charity auction in London to raise money for Unicef.

We look back at these stories and others from the week at Barça:

- Suárez, Neymar and Messi forming devastating threesome

-  Javier Mascherano, Dani Alves and Carles Puyol all received awards at the prestigious 'Mundo Deportivo' gala night this week. Eric Abidal was also there to present Puyol with his award.

- Clásico at the Camp Nou, Sunday 22 March at 9.00pm (CET)

- FC Barcelona v Villarreal CF: Final within reach (3–1)

- Luis Enrique says it isn't over yet after the win at Camp Nou against Villarreal in the Cup semi-final.

For Luis Enrique the tie is not over yet by fcbarcelona

 - Josep María Selva, who has been a Barça member for longer than anyone else alive, 84 years, was invited to see President Josep Maria Bartomeu this week. The blaugranes' longest serving member has been invited to the VIP Box at Camp Nou for the league game against Rayo Vallecano.

- FC Barcelona announces the formation of a new Football Area Technical Commission, made up of vice-president Jordi Mestre, board member Javier Bordas, Carles Rexach and Ariedo Braida.

New Football Area Technical Commission presented by fcbarcelona

 - Barça '60 Minutes' journalist dies in a car accident in the USA. Bob Simon was the man behind two specials of CBS' famous programme dedicated to FC Barcelona's sporting model and Leo Messi.

 - Thursday evening's auction as part of the '1 in 11' project  raised over 3 million euros. The money from the event in Sotheby's in London will to go fund Unicef educational projects in Bangladesh, Nepal and Indonesia.

All about the auction at Sotheby's benefiting... by fcbarcelona

The FC Barcelona Board of Directors, in a meeting on Monday at the Club’s offices, have agreed the cessation of their audiovisual rights to Telefónica de Contenidos, S.A. for the season 2015/16.

 FC Barcelona with this agreement is backing a leading global company in their sector and with a clear agenda of innovation. Telefónica, for their part, include this agreement in their global television and content strategy.

 This agreement, that is strategic for our organisation, is the result of a long period of contact and negotiations with operators from all over the world.

 FC Barcelona would like to thank the company Mediapro for their support and their collaboration over the years that they have been linked to our organisation in the area of television rights.

Furthermore, in the meeting on Monday, an agreement has been reached to cede the exploitation of the Club’s television channel Barça TV to Telefónica de Contenidos S.A, with a firm commitment to maintain the current format of the channel and to promote those contents that make it unique.

 Other agreements

 The Board of Directors have also decided to seal various commercial agreements. The first of which is the extension of the contract with the company Aftershare for the production of contents for the Barça Fans platform. In the area of schools and campuses the Club has approved the opening of two new schools, in Tokyo and Copenhagen, and a series of campuses this summer in the Russian city of Sochi.

 The Board of Directors has also decided to incorporate the logo of the FC Barcelona Foundation into the shirts of the FC Barcelona first teams of the professional sections until the end of this season. Also, it has been announced that they basketball first team will wear the logo of ‘Scholas Occurrentes’ during the games of this season’s Copa del Rey which begins this Thursday in Gran Canaria. Scholas Occurrentes is an interreligious global network of more than 400,000 educational centres set up by Pope Francis with the intention of integrating educational communities around the world, with particular reference to those who are most in need.

 In the meeting on Monday the signing of an agreement with Telefónica for the next three seasons as a regional partner in Latin America, including Mexico. Telefónica will activate sponsorship agreements in the area with their brands Movista and Vivo.

 This agreement with Telefónica is in line with a long history of collaborations that began back in 2003 and will allow Barça fans to get closer to the Club in an area that is more and more strategic for the global development of our organisation. This agreement with Telefonica comes at a time when the company has great commercial links with Latin America that connect perfectly with the sporting potential of our club. A potential that can count on the best players in the world, much admired South American stars such as Messi, Neymar, Suárez, Bravo, Mascherano and Alves amongst others.

The Barça first team players have took it upon themselves to engage on a personal level with the Club’s Chinese fans who are currently celebrating the beginning of their new year. Two of the first team captains, Xavi Hernández and Sergio Busquets, as well as Ivan Rakitic, Pedro and Sergi Roberto all send a message in Chinese to celebrate the entrance of the Year of the Goat, the animal that represents tranquility and consistency in Chinese tradition.

The video was filmed at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper and the setting was styled in traditional Chinese fashion. The players can be seen opening gifts from Suning, Barça’s first ever Chinese sponsor.

In recent years FC Barcelona has aimed to participate in the celebration of Chinese New Year with various events and special content for the fans in the Asian giant. The Club has also been careful to recognise the most important dates in the Chinese calendar such as the Autumn Festival, Chinese National Day and of course New Year. Furthermore, initiatives that strengthen bonds with China, where there are millions of blaugrana fans who follow all the latest about the Club via the official website fcbarcelona.cn and through various social platforms such as the official accounts with Tencent Weibo and Sina Weibo. In these networks there are already more than eight million Chinese Barça fans who follow the very latest news at the Club. In addition, the Chinese website has one of the biggest audiences of all within FC Barcelona’s digital platform.

“China is a very important country in terms of spreading the blaugrana fanbase,” according to Didac Lee, the Barça director for the Area of Media and Communication with responsibility for New Technologies. Lee, who himself is of Chinese ancestry, considers the country to be “a strategic area for any club that aspires to be a global leader.” He continued: “for some years now we are carrying out a lot of work in the country from a digital perspective and also on the ground.” It is worth remembering that the Club is working hard with its strategy via its office in Hong Kong. The partnerships set up in recent years with Tencent and Suning are an attempt to lead the way in the region.

A Barça side on course for the league title moved a step nearer to their goal in the Santiago Bernabéu with a sensational 5-0 win over Real Madrid. Any doubts remaining about the destination of the league trophy that season were dispelled with a masterful display from Rinus Michels’ side. Asensi scored twice that day with Cruyff, Juan Carlos and Sotil notching up the others. The triumphant line up that day was Mora; Rifé, Torres, Costas, De la Cruz; Juan Carlos, Asensi, Sotil; Rexach, Cruyff and Marcial (Tomé min 70).
It was an unforgettable victory, one of those encounters that enter the history books as soon as the final whistle sounds. Coach Rinus Michels confessed that his side had played “their best game of the season.” Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu did not hold back in criticising his team: “Madrid appear to be a rubbish dump.” Barcelona went into party mode, and what a party it was.

El FC Barcelona have increased ticket sales points in the centre of the city thanks to a new deal with the Col·legi de Periodistes de Catalunya. Tickets can now be bought from three kiosks situated in the Plaça Catalunya, the Rambles and the Passeig de Gràcia – areas which are very popular with tourists to the Catalan capital.

The kiosks will be identified by the official logo-‘FC Barcelona Official Sales Point’ - which also appears at other official sales points, such as the FCBotigues or the Turisme de Barcelona information points. Tickets for first team games at the Camp Nou and basketball at the Palau will be on sale, as will tickets for the Camp Nou Experience, which includes the Museum and Stadium ours.

Members discounts are NOT available at these sales points. These are applicable on tickets purchased through the Club website or at the Camp Nou ticket offices.

The Col·legi de Periodistes de Catalunya runs 13 kiosks in Barcelona, although the deal will only cover the three mentioned above for the moment, reflecting the Club’s desire to offer a service to areas popular with tourists whilst not ruling out an extension of the scheme in the future.

Official FC Barcelona ticket sales points in the city centre

Starting at 12.30 at the Press Room at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper, press conference to present the new Regional Partnership sponsorship agreement  with  Telefónica. FC Barcelona Vice-President Javier Faus, and Telefónica Chief Operating Officer, José María Álvarez Pallete, will present the new agreement.