Saturday 18 July is the day of presidential elections at FC Barcelona, and there will plenty to do at the Camp Nou apart from casting votes. From 9.00am to 9.00pm there will be no fewer than 24 different activities for people of all ages to enjoy in and around the stadium, divided into three categories: premium, children and general.

The premium activities include the chance to have your picture taken with the Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies won last season. There is also a very special stadium tour that includes the presidential box and the first team changing room and the chance to walk on the pitch. Children aged 5 to 14 will even get the opportunity to have shots on goal!

There will be two special children’s areas. One will feature a number of different games with an aquatic theme, which should help keep cool on what is expected to be another scorching hot day. The other involves different crafts and such attractions as the ‘shootometer’ and ‘jumping kids’.

Older visitors can have fun with body painting, graffiti and fast-football, as well as other activities related to handball, basketball, roller hockey and futsal.

There will also be plenty of music and other shows to keep everyone in the mood, plus free catering for members and their guests. Food and drinks will be served from 9.30am to 11.30am (breakfast) 1.30pm to 4.30pm (lunch) and 6.30pm to 8.30pm (supper).

What to bring

To vote, all you need to bring is your national ID card or passport, but for you and up to two guests to take part in the activities you will also need to show your membership card, so members are advised to bring those along too. Your membership cards will also entitle you to free parking on the Camp Nou facilities.

Free travel

In order to ensure the best possible turnout for the elections, the club is also laying free busses to transport members from the cities of Girona, Lleida and Tarragona. There will be one departure from each of these places at 9.00 am and another at 3.30pm. You must book this service before July 12 at 7.00pm using a form that you’ll find on the FC Barcelona website, or by contacting the OAB either in person or by phone.

All about the elections

Thursday marked the official beginning of the campaign for FC Barcelona presidential elections, which are to be held on Saturday 18 July from 9.00am to 9.00pm CET at Camp Nou. A total of 109,367 members are entitled to vote, according to the electoral census approved by the Electoral Commission, and will need to show the DNI in order to vote.

Additionally, the club has begun an informational campaign to encourage participation among members, including a mailing to all members with voting rights. In the coming days they will receive a letter from the president of the Management Committee, Ramon Adell, plus a card indicating the line and table where they need to vote in the tents that will be installed on the esplanade of the Auditorium 1899. In the letter, members will also find a booklet outlining family activities that will held all day long on Election Day at Camp Nou. A membership card will be required to access the activity area and free parking at the stadium.

SPECIAL ELECTIONS 2015

FC Barcelona has become a brand with a global impact, yet despite this Barça has been able to maintain its very essence and commitment to Catalonia. Under this premise, the prestigious American university Harvard are building course contents, under the theme of Creative Industries, in which Barça’s success will be studied.

The academic in charge of the course is Anita Elberse, who has carried out similar studies of successful cases in the world of sport and entertainment such as those of LeBron James, the NFL and Alex Ferguson, according to the newspaper La Vanguardia.

FC Barcelona’s success is the perfect marriage between the Club’s global reach and its commitment to more local issues, conclude the experts from one of the United States’ most famous educational institutions following on from several meetings with Club executives.

The seminar will focus on various different aspects of the Club: la Masia, its particular style of play, its commitment to Catalonia and the images of stars such as Neymar, Leo Messi and Luis Suárez. It will also touch on the need to bring together the Club’s desire to become a global force and at the same time retain its local roots.

This is how, according to those in charge of the course, FC Barcelona is able to safeguard the sporting excellent of its teams and consequently the success of its business model.

Digital success

One of the successes of the Barça brand has been in the area of new technology. Barça glocal (global + digital) is digital. Aside from its sporting success, the Club maintains a business model in the digital arena, having become according to the magazine Adweek the principal producer of digital sports contents in the world.

The Camp Nou was the venue on Tuesday evening for a debate between the four candidates for the presidency of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, Joan Laporta, Agustí Benedito and Toni Freixa, who presented and discussed their proposals for the future of the club.

Broadcast live in TV3 and Catalunya Radio, and moderated by Bernat Soler, the two-hour debate was divided into four main blocks: review of the previous mandate, sporting matters, finance and assets, and the social area (members and supporters).

The elections to choose the new president of FC Barcelona take place this Saturday 18 July. This is the only debate in which all four candidates have appeared together.

Post-debate comments:

Josep Maria Bartomeu

“I believe that the members have received many projects and ideas, they have been able to openly debate the Barça of today and in the future.”

“All the members should come to vote on Saturday and from what they have seen today they should be more than clear about who it would be best to vote for.”

“It is important for us to present the image of a democratic club, the image of a club in which all members are involved. There is a lot at stake in this election for the next six years, and Barça has to continue to be the number one sports club in the world.”

Joan Laporta

“I have been able to present my proposal in depth and it has been my pleasure to do so.”

“The proposal is that Barça is more than a club, Cruyff, Masia, Unicef, a multi-sports club and a professional organisation, and moreover with a strong president, who takes decisions, who defends the interest of Barça wherever and whenever needed, and who does so with conviction, arguments and respect.”

“If the trend, as I have been told, continues to change, then my main mission will be to seek happiness for all Barça supporters.”

Agustí Benedito

“I am happy with how the debate has gone. Both on a personal level and from what other members have said. I don’t know what the supporters hoped for, but I believe that we have lived up to expectations.”

“Each of us has acted as expected. Each of us has expressed ourselves as we are.”

“It has been a pretty frank debate, we’ve been able to talk about what we wanted to talk about and I think it’s been interesting.”

Toni Freixa

“We are highly satisfied with the way the debate went and to have been able to make constructive proposals. We have worked hard on the things that the club needs for the future. The whole campaign has consisted of that.”

“We have finally been able to reach all of the members, something we had not been able to do until now. We have become an alternative and we are very optimistic about the election results.”

“The members are now fully aware of what we represent and what we understand that Barça should be.”

On Wednesday, the Managing Commission received an auditing report from Deloitte of the annual FC Barcelona accounts for the 2014/15 season, along with certification of the debt ratio pursuant to article 67 of the Statutes.

This is a net audit, and includes no exceptions. The report states that “the annual accounts for the 2014-2015 financial year express, in all significant aspects, a faithful reproduction of FC Barcelona’s assets and financial situation on 30 June 2015, as well as its results and cash flow corresponding to the year ending on this date, pursuant to legislation on financial reports and, in particular, the accounting criteria and principles contained therein”.

The 2014/15 financial year ended with a turnover of 608 million euros, an EBITDA of 105 million euros and after-tax profits of 15 million euros.

Due to its desire to act with transparency, the Managing Commission has made the following documents public (in Catalan):

1. Auditing report and annual accounts closed on 30 June 2015.
2. Report on agreed procedures  pursuant to Art 67 of the Statutes.
3. Summary of most relevant financial data.

On Saturday, the Specialised Attention Office (OAE) at the club will be making an effort to ensure that all members will be able to attend this special day. Just like on the day of the Referendum on the new Espai Barça, there will be a special area fitted out for access by people with reduced mobility, the disabled and the elderly. There will be wheelchair ramps into the voting booths and people with the aforesaid difficulties will be given priority treatment so that don’t have to wait in queues.

We’ll take you there

The ‘T’acompanyem’ will also be active all day from 9.00am to 9.00pm with a special helpdesk located at the entrance to the voting area and coordinated by the OAE. 24 Red Cross volunteers will be there to help people with reduced mobility or disabilities to get where they need to be.

People with reduced mobility arriving in their own vehicles should contact the OAE on 902 1899 00 or at oae@fcbarcelona.cat to sort out any potential problems with mobility or parking.

Live sign language and subtitles

The press conference reporting on the outcome of the elections will be offered with simultaneous sign language translation and subtitles for the hard of hearing.

The area around Camp Nou is now in the final hours of what has been an intense period of preparation for Election Day, being held on Saturday 18 July. The area will host a variety of fun activities that are being organized to encourage maximum participation.

The polls will be open from 9.00am to 9.00pm CET to give the 109,367 members with voting rights the chance to vote in a 3,500 square metre area that has been set up on the esplanade opposite the Auditori 1899, the same place where the referendum on the New Espai Barça was voted on two years ago.

The voting will take place under a gargantuan setup of blaugrana tents and will have 136 voting tables spread among 14 zones, with everything arranged alphabetically by surname.

Adjacent to the voting area at the south end of the stadium, there will be four tents — one for each candidate to use throughout the day. The Auditori 1899 itself has been readied for use for the approximately 450 credentialed media covering the election.

Large body of personnel

Over 2,000 people are being mobilised to carry out the various tasks associated with Saturday's election, including those manning the 136 voting tables, as well as auditors, Club employees, security and medical personnel, candidate support teams, and members of the Electoral Board, among others.

Fun zone

In addition to the voting area there will also be a mini amusement park with 24 fun activities and three performance areas near the food court, where free breakfast, lunch and snacks will be given out. The fun zone will be divided into premium, children's, and general activities, including the unique opportunity to take shots on goals for children 5 to 14 years of age.

To access the activity area members must be accredited at one of the 10 places to do so around the stadium, where they'll be required to show their membership card and will be given a bracelet and two more for guests.

There will also be shaded areas set up so people can get shelter from the sun and high temperatures.

Parking and pedestrian areas

There will be five entrances for people who arrive on foot. The main access will be number 15 on Avinguda Aristides Maillol with the corner Travessera de les Corts, with direct entry to the voting area. Other entrances are at Accesses 2, 9 and 18.

Members with their member ID can park at Camp Nou through Accesses 1, 8A and 8D, 20 and 21. There will also be parking enabled the Zona Universitària parking lot on Martí i Franquès.

Medical services

The Club has organised medical services to be stationed at two points in the voting area and three other points around the stadium. There will be a total of three doctors and seven nurses on hand, as well as Red Cross staff and four ambulances.

This Saturday 18 July, the day of the elections for the president of FC Barcelona, the Club will make available to members and fans extensive coverage of events via its web platform, available in nine different languages, social media and the Club’s official television channel Barça TV.

There will be all the main stories, videos, extensive photographic coverage, real time updates concerning election-day on offer from FC Barcelona’s various media platforms.

In English there will be minute by minute updates of voting day at fcbarcelona.com, as well as on the Club’s official Twitter feed and other social media.

Within Catalonia and Spain, Barça TV will offer extensive coverage of election-day from early in the morning right up until its conclusion late into the evening. With communications multinational Telefónica now overseeing the Club’s official TV channel as of 1 July, Barça TV will offer up the most in depth coverage in its 16 year history of this crucial day.

One of the many values for which FC Barcelona is famous for defending is that of democracy. And the most poignant example of this is how, unlike most other professional football clubs around the world, Barça is a not a limited company. It is instead a non-profit making association that is owned by its members. And it is those members who get to vote for their president, which is precisely what will be happening at the Camp Nou this Saturday 18 July.

Early elections

The mandate for the FC Barcelona presidency was extended from four to six years in 2009, which was how long Sandro Rosell, who was elected president by a record majority of 61.5% in June 2010, was originally going to serve the post. However, in January 2014 he resigned from the position and was replaced by his vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

In January of this year, 2015, Bartomeu revealed that he would be calling elections in advance. The reason he cited was “to protect the Club from a level of tension which is not helping us to manage it. All this affects the team and that’s why we are calling elections at the end of the season – to lower the tension and help the team.”

The candidates

There were originally seven candidates for the 2015 elections, but three of these were eliminated for failing to collect the minimum required number of signatures from fellow members. The four men who are vying for the presidency this Saturday are in alphabetical order:

Josep Maria Bartomeu: Has held different positions at FC Barcelona. Between 2003 and 2005 he was a board member, head of the handball and basketball sections, a sport he practiced during his youth in different teams, such as FC Barcelona. He came back in 2010 as sports vicepresident, a function he held until January 2014, when he took over as President after Sandro Rosell’s resignation.

Further information: Biography, Manifesto, Team, Social Networks

Agustí Benedito: Founder of the the Elefant Blau platform that defended the unique ownership structure of the club and supported Lluís Bassat in the 2000 elections. From 2003 until his resignation in 2009, formed part of the club’s Sports Commission and Social Commission under the Joan Laporta presidency. Stood as a candidate himself in the 2010 elections, finishing second.

Further information: Biography, Manifesto, Team, Social Networks

Antoni Freixa: In 2000 supported the candidature of Lluís Bassat. Later, from 2003 to 2005, was Legal Advisor to Joan Laporta’s Board and a member and later president of the Disciplinary Commission, a post he left in October 2014. In 2010, he became Secretary and Spokesman for the Board during the presidency of Sandro Rosell. He stood down as spokesman in February 2014 and as Secretary in October 2014.

Further information: Biography, Manifesto, Team, Social Networks

Joan Laporta: Was elected as President of FC Barcelona on 15 June 2003  with 52.7% of the votes and was re-elected as President in 2006. During his mandate the club won the Champions League twice, income increased by 300% in the seven years and the number of members rose from 106,135 to 173,701. Laporta the historic Unicef agreement in 2006, by which FC Barcelona committed itself financially to collaborate with the organisation and also wear its logo on the first team shirt.

Further information: Biography, Manifesto, Team, Social Networks

How the elections work

Any adult member is entitled to vote provided (a) they are legally incapacitated, (b) have been a member for a minimum of one year, (c) have not had their membership status suspended and (d) are included in the electoral roll. Votes must be cast in person – there is no possibility of electronic or mail voting. Membership cards are not required to vote – a national ID card is all that people need to bring.

Once the four candidates that satisfied the essential conditions to stand in these elections had been confirmed, the campaign itself ran for a week from Thursday 9 July until midnight CET on Thursday 16 July, the highlight being the live televised debate between the four candidates held at the Camp Nou on the evening of Tuesday 14.

Voting takes place from 9.00am to 9.00pm CET on Saturday, and the results are not likely to be revealed until the small hours of Sunday morning.

Hive of activity

Election day is not just about coming to the stadium and putting voting slips in the ballot box. The club has made sure that this Saturday is going to be a fun day out for all the family to enjoy. The activities include the chance to have your picture taken with the Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies won last season, a special stadium tour that includes the presidential box and the first team changing room and children aged 5 to 14 will even get the opportunity to have shots on goal!

Children can also enjoy games with an aquatic theme, different crafts and such attractions as the ‘shootometer’ and ‘jumping kids’. Older visitors can have fun with body painting, graffiti and fast-football, as well as other activities related to handball, basketball, roller hockey and futsal. There will also be plenty of music and other shows to keep everyone in the mood, plus free catering for members and their guests.

Keep informed

You will find full information about the elections in our Election Special section, and you can rest assured that here at www.fcbarcelona.com and on our official Twitter account we’ll be keeping you up date with all the news as it happens on this historic day for FC Barcelona!

Joan Laporta, who presided the club from 2003 to 2010 and after casting his vote at the Camp Nou, commented that “it’s a good sign that so many people have voted. I get the feeling that we are going to win and that I’m going to be feeling very happy at the end of the day … I have seen a lot of people voicing their support for me. They remember what I did when I was president.”

More statements from Joan Laporta:

“The people have responded. Barça has responded on such an important day. It’s only 10.30 and there are already crowds of people”.

“I’m thankful for the support I’ve received. It shows how fans remember that we built the best Barça ever, a Barça that people are still enjoying and that can continue for another six years”.

“Just like I don’t remember bad moments, I can’t really remember how I felt on election day in 2003. But I have a very good feeling about today”.

“I went to bed feeling good, I woke up this morning feeling good and I hope to end today happy as well”.

The third candidate to cast his vote on Saturday was Toni Freixa, and afterwards he said that “the members know there’s a lot at stake today, including the immediate future. They always take responsibility and show up for the big occasions … The joy of the Barça fans both now and in the future is what matters today.”

Other statements by Toni Freixa:

"We are a unique club in the world and we can feel very proud of our candidacy”.

“Today is not a day for campaigning. We have had 45 days to do that and the last five have been the most decisive. And I feel happy with the way things have gone”.

“We have reached the final neck and neck with the other candidates and the work they have all done has been very good. It has been an example to everyone of what Barça can do”.

“We are very happy with the job we have done and people have recognised us for that. We can feel very proud of ourselves”.

“I want to congratulate the employees that have worked so hard to make this day work. The organisation of all this has been fantastic”.

Agustí Benedito was the last of the four candidates to cast his vote for the presidential elections, and afterwards commented that “a lot of people know that there’s a need for change. They are tired of wars and have a different idea of what Barça should be. I believe I can lead that change … These are the most important elections since 1953 … We’re deciding about investments of more than a thousand million euros. There’s a lot at stake but the people know that. Today is a huge celebration and I feel proud of that and happy to be a Barça supporter.”

Other statements by Agustí Benedito:

“They’re not ideal dates but Barça is more important than anything else. That’s why I’m calling on everyone to come along and vote”.

“There are very few clubs in the world where this happens. Of teams of our calibre, we’re unique. Thousands of Barça members will decide”.

“All four candidacies have been up the requirements of the campaign. It has been a clean process”.

“These elections are wide open. I’m hoping there’s going to be a surprise at the end of the day”.

Josep Maria Bartomeu, Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Agustí Benedito had all cast their votes by 10.30am CET

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Voting, Barça and a festive atmosphere have been the key notes in during election day at Camp Nou, this 18 July. The vote to decide who of Josep Maria Bartomeu, Joan Laporta, Agustí Benedito and Toni Freixa will be FC Barcelona president has meant a day of Barça passion at the stadium.

As predicted, the heat has been one of the most notable elements of the day and for that reason a series of activities had been prepared for the public to help them combat the high temperatures. For the youngsters there were paddling pools in the form of a football field and there was also the chance for members and friends to be photographed with the trophies from the most recent treble and from the professional sections following their highly successful campaign. Budding strikers had the chance to show their finishing skills in a goal defended by a mural of keeper Jordi Masip.

The activities continued inside the stadium as members had the chance to walk out on to the pitch via the players’ tunnel. Once on the field, members between the ages of 5 and 14 have had the chance to play football on the hallowed turf at Camp Nou.

All in all Camp Nou has played host to day that will decide who will be FC Barcelona president for the next six years. Josep Maria Bartomeu, Joan Laporta, Agustí Benedito and Toni Freixa await the results, expected later on in the evening CET time to see, to which of them will be president until 2021.

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The candidacy of Josep Maria Bartomeu has emerged victorious after the elections of 18 July and that means that FC Barcelona member 16,331 will occupy the position of president, a role he fulfilled between 23 January 2014 and 9 June 2015, at which point the Managing Commission led by Ramon Adell took control of the Club.

Bartomeu became president of FC Barcelona on 23 January 2014, that date on which Sandro Rosell presented his resignation. The man who had been vice president up to that point, assumed the post of president for 16 months (half of the season 2014/15 and the season 2015/16).

Elections 2015 THE PROGRAM

His career

Aside from being president, he has fulfilled various other roles at FC Barcelona.  Between 2003 and 2005 he was the director responsible for the handball and basketball sections and in 2010 he returned to the Club as sporting vice president.

Married and father of two, he’s a partner and CEO of the ADELTE Group (port and airport engineering, worldwide leader of boarding and design of large transport vehicles) and EFS, Equipo Facility Services (group of system maintenance and electromechanical equipment businesses).

THE TEAM

The new president of FC Barcelona Josep Maria Bartomeu started his speech with words of thanks to all the people who had made the day possible. “My first words have to be for the Barça members, those who have voted, those who didn’t vote, those who have not been able to come and those who did not want to take part: thank you.”

“It has been a perfect day. We have shown that we are the best team in the world,” affirmed Bartomeu after election-day. He also took the chance to thank the other candidates for their hard work and sense of fair-play during the campaign and that any idea that was good for Barça would be worth considering. “We will try to replicate the level of confidence shown by members, and the directors that have come before us,” said Bartomeu.

Other statements from the new president of FC Barcelona:

“I want to send a clear message to Barça fans around the world. It has been a long and intense day with a lot of tension.”

“We will keep growing and winning if we keep giving Luis Enrique and his coaching staff the best players, and if we back the Foundation and the Espai Barça, we will create a reference point.”

“We will keep growing and winning with La Masia, women’s football, the Espai Barça and the number one club in financial terms..”

“If we are able in this project, together and united, we will always be stronger.”

“We are a club that supports the country. We have to retain Barça’s independence from the economic, political and media powers.”

Josep Maria Bartomeu has been elected as the new president of FC Barcelona. The man who filled the role between January 2014 and June 2015 has gained most support from member with 25,823 votes. He is followed by Joan Laporta with 15,615, Agustí Benedito with 3,386 and Toni Freixa with 1,750.

With 47,720 votes counted, the elections have had the third highest turnout in FC Barcelona history. Only 2010 with 57,088 votes and 2003 with 51,618 have been greater.

During its 115 history, the Club has had a total of 46 presidents, including the Managing Commissions that have had control. Walter Wild was the first in 1899 and Josep Maria Bartomeu will be the next until 2021.

Festive day for Barça members

18 July 2015 has seen a party like atmosphere reign at Camp Nou. Since 9.00am CET until 9.00pm CET, members and their friends and family have been able to exercise their right to vote as well as enjoying various activities at the stadium, which saw 35,646 people take part. Between 9am and 11am and between 7pm and 9pm have been the hours with greatest activity from the members. More than 8,000 people voted in each of these periods.

The candidates opted to vote early themselves. The first was Josep Maria Bartomeu, followed by Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Agustí Benedito. Later, other high profile figures came to Camp Nou to vote, amongst them the President of the Generalitat, Artur Mas. Representatives of the first team also cast votes, coach Luis Enrique, captain Andrés Iniesta as well as members of the professional sections.

On 18 July 2015 FC Barcelona held its presidential election for the first time in six years. The winner was sitting president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who beat out Joan Laporta, Augustí Benedito and Toni Freixa. Check out this ten-minute video of what wasn't seen, from the votes of the four candidates and other celebrities until the announcement of the winner.