The Camp Nou is about to witness its first Liga action of the new season against Málaga on Saturday 29 at 8.30pm CET. In preparation, today Wednesday saw the launch of the new #Iwasthere campaign to promote ticket sales for home matches.

The trilingual promotion (#Johiera, #Yoestuveahí, #Iwasthere) was a massive success last season. So the club is once again going to be stressing how, when discussing Barça matches with friends and acquaintances, it’s so great to be able to tell them that you were actually there in the stadium to see it happen live.

In the treble winning 2014/15 season, an astonishing 2,140,844 people were able to say #Iwasthere to see a game in La Liga, the Copa del Rey or the Champions League. That’s 4% more than the previous season. But with the team playing slightly more games, the improvement was even more pronounced when calculated per game. The average attendance of 73,822 was 8% up on the year before.

Things bode well for the 2015/16 season. The Joan Gamper match against AS Roma drew a monster crowd of 94,422, and even despite the poor result in the first leg, the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Club Bilbao still attracted a massive 88,834 people to the stadium. And a large proportion of those were tourists, at whom the marketing campaign in English is particularly aimed.

Sharing experiences

Another of the ideas behind the ‘#Iwasthere initiative is to get people coming to the Camp Nou to share videos and photos of their experience on social networks using the hashtag. With the team storming to victory in all three major competitions and the ‘trident’ setting records left, right and centre, loads of that content went viral. Here’s hoping for plenty more of that in 2015/16!

FC Barcelona can offer a wide range of channels for the purchase of tickets, meaning it has never been easier to find a seat in the stadium. Tickets are available via the club website at www.fcbarcelona.com, in person at the Camp Nou ticket offices, at tourist information centres in Barcelona, at official club stores and at El Prat Barcelona Airport.

 - Pedro: 'Being at Barça was a dream come true.' The striker bids farewell to the Club and the fans in a press conference attended by his family and his former team mates.

- Dani Alves' injury confirmed. Tests show that the Brazilian suffered a groin strain in the first half of the game in San Mamés. Sergio Busquets' ankle injury, however, is nothing serious.

- Messi's goal against Bayern voted best of 2014/15 Champions League. Users of the UEFA official website hand first prize to the Argentinian for his amazing finish in last season's semi-final first leg.

 - Ter Stegen scoops UEFA Save of the Season award. The German keeper's double intervention against Bayern Munich last season voted the best of the 2014/15 Champions League by users of the official UEFA website.

 - Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma and BATE Borisov are Barça's group stage opponents in 2015/16 UEFA Champions League. FC Barcelona will begin the defence of their title in Group E following the draw on Thursday in Monaco.

 - Leo Messi UEFA Best Player in Europe. The Argentine receives a total of 49 votes, beating Luis Suárez (3) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2) to the award.

Following Lionel Messi at the UEFA Gala by fcbarcelona

 - FC Barcelona top seeded more than any club since 1999. Since the Champions League group stage was extended to 32 teams, the Catalans have been in pot number one sixteen times.

 - Agreement on transfer of Denis Suárez to Villarreal CF. FC Barcelona maintain the same option to buy the player back at the end of the season.

 - VIDEO: 10 years to day since Messi burst on to the scene. The Argentine rose to prominence in the 2005 Joan Gamper Trophy game following a virtuoso performance against Juventus.

 - FC Barcelona v Málaga: Persistence pays off (1-0). Goal from Thomas Vermaelen enough to give Barça victory in their first home league game of the season on a frustrating evening at Camp Nou.

The Club's Board of Directors has met today in a scheduled meeting and approved the following points:

• To celebrate the General Asesembly of Members' Representatives on the weekend 24/25 October, coinciding with the league game at Camp Nou against SD Eibar.

• To develop the Club Travel Department, which falls in the Social Area, with the intention of promoting away games in the League, Copa del Rey and Champions League in both football and other professional sports. This is a commitment made to the members' group 'Seguimiento FCB' during the election campaign for the presidency of the Club. In the coming day, when the project is complete, details will be announced publicly.

• The extension of regional commercial agreements: with Change Beers of Thailand for a period of three years in 11 countries in South East Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and East Timor); and with the shampoo Head and Shoulders from the multinational Procter and Gamble, for a period of two years and for five countries in the same region of the world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.)

• The relaying of the pitch at the Camp Tito Vilanova at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, taking advantage of the break in the league calendar.

The Board has approved the following announcements:

• Jordi Mestre, sporting vice president, will take responsibility for women's football.

• Javier Bordas, director responsible for the football first team

• Silvio Elías, director responsible for Barça B and the U19 sides

• Xavier Vilajoana, director responsible for amateur youth football

• Joan Bladé, director responsible for the basketball section

Futhermore, Jordi Cardoner, Ramon Pont, Didac Lee and Maria Tejedor have been incorporated into the Governing Board of the Foundation as vice presidents.

Elsewhere, the Board would like to congratulate the women's football team for winning the Copa Catalunya, the first great victory for the Club's new professional section.

The Board have also been informed by the executives in charge of the Espai Barça of the composition of the jury and the approval process for the finalists in the architectural contest for the design of the new Camp Nou and Palau.

The jury will be comprised of Josep Maria Bartomeu, Susana Monje, Jordi Moix and Emili Rousaud from FC Barcelona, the architect Juan Pablo Mitjans and representative from the Catalan College of Architects and the City Council who will be named soon.

Finally, the Board have also been informed of the development of the FCBEscola and International Supporters' Club project that is put together in 13 international schools, seven of which are situated in cities which have a Barça supporters' club.

MESSI AND INIESTA PRESENT THE EUROPEAN TROPHIES TO THE CAMP NOU CROWD

Just before the first league game of the season against Málaga at Camp Nou, captain Andrés Iniesta presented the European Super Cup Trophy to the crowd whilst Leo Messi did the same with the UEFA Best Player in Europe award for 2014/15.

BARÇA LASSA HANDBALL CATALAN SUPER CUP CHAMPIONS

First title of the season for Xavi Pascual's team thanks to a 35-21 win over Fraikin Granollers in the final.

FOLLOWING LEO MESSI AT THE UEFA GALA

Leo Messi was the focus of attention at the UEFA Gala in Monaco where he was named Best Player in Europe for 2014/15.

FIRST TEAM PHOTO SESSION

Catch up with the best and most entertaining moments from the Barça's first team's date with the photographer.

PEDRO'S FAREWELL

Pedro Rodríguez left Barça and headed off to the Premier League after seven seasons as a blaugrana. The striker bid an emotional farewell to the Club with a moving press conference included.

CAMP NOU GETS A NEW PITCH

Following the Spanish Super Cup final against Athletic Club, Camp Nou got a new playing surface ahead of the opening league fixutre of the season against Málaga.

EUROPEAN SUPER CUP CHAMPIONS

FC Barcelona overcame Sevilla in the European Super Cup final played in the Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia. The final was an exciting one that was deicided in extra time and the joy at the final whistle for Luis Enrique's side is palpable as they claimed their first title of the 2015/16 season.

KEITA RETURNS TO CAMP NOU

Seydou Keita came back to Camp Nou for the first time after a four year spell at the Club as a player. The occasion was the visit of AS Roma for the Joan Gamper Trophy match, an emotional evening for the man from Mali.

FIRST TEAM PRESENTATION AT THE GAMPER 2015/16

As is usual, Camp Nou was the venue for the presentation of the FC Barcelona squad on the day of the Gamper Trophy game. Before the game between Barça and Roma, the fans gave the players a rousing reception.

THE NEW SIGNINGS AT THE SUPPORTERS' CLUB CONGRESS

At the start of August the new technical secretary for the first team Robert Fernandez, Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan, along with Sandro and Munir at an event during the Supporters' Club assembly in Barcelona.

FC Barcelona has unveiled two new profiles on Facebook and Twitter with the aim of boosting the presence of the Club's women's football team on social media, further cementing FC Barcelona as a world leader in social networking. The new official channels (facebook.com/fcbfemeni) and (twitter.com/fcbfemeni) will provide an exclusive online space for fans who want to keep up to date with all the news from FC Barcelona's Women's A team, which opens league play this weekend. Followers are encouraged to use the hashtag #FCBFemeni on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest team news and share their passion for the FCB Women.

The FCBFemeni profiles are a spin off of FCBMasia, which will continue to offer all the latest news and multimedia content surrounding the Barça B team, the Youth Academy teams, and the rest of La Masia. Meanwhile, FCBFemeni will bring together everything from the Club's women's football section. Fans will be able get match results, see the standings and discover exclusive multimedia content.

Over 40 social media profiles

With the arrival of FCBFemeni, the club now has more than 40 social media channels across a plethora of social networks, a true record in the world of sport. FC Barcelona's 10 profiles on Facebook, 17 on Twitter, 6 on LINE and 2 on Instagram, as well as channels on YouTube, Dailymotion, Come, Tencent Weibo, Sina Weibo, WECH, BBM, TuneIn, and the Club's official mobile app bring Barça to every corner of the world and let fans share their passion through messaging or by sharing photos or videos.

Follow the players

In addition to following FCBFemeni, fans can also get the latest news by following the players individually on Twitter.

 Follow the FCB Women on Facebook

 Follow the FCB Women on Twitter

FC Barcelona have received a visit from a delegation formed by executive members of the Japanese multinational Panasonic Corporation who are in Catalonia due to their investment in the Catalan multinational Ficosa. The party from Panasonic, led by their president Kazuhiro Tsuga, visited our facilities and took advantage of their visit to have a private meeting with president Josep Maria Bartomeu and vice presidents Jordi Cardoner and Manel Arroyo.

Kazuhiro Tsuga has been president of the Panasonic Corporation since June 2012. Before becoming president, he occupied various positions within the company that he joined in 1979 after graduating from Osaka University in bioengineering. He completed his studies in the sector in the USA at the University of California.

The visit by the delegation from the Japanese company was hosted by the FC Barcelona CEO Ignacio Mestre and Commercial Director Laurent Colette. The visitors were the different spaces at Camp Nou and the tour ended in the President Suñol Room where there was an exchange of gifts between the two parties.

Jordi Cardoner:

“The interest shown by Panasonic corresponds to our interest in them. We have values in common: effort, commitment, team work..They invited us to visit their technological centre in December in Japan, the country with the second highest number of Barça members, during the World Club Cup.”

“Panasonic is a reference point in the world in terms of reducing energy consumption and thinking ahead to the new Espai Barça, they would be a strategic partner.”

FC Barcelona and Twitter have reached an agreement which will allow the club and its sponsors to expand their online presence with the introduction of small advertisements on Barça’s content via Twitter Amplify,

Sports drinks company Gatorade is the first Barça sponsor which will take advantage of this new deal.

In the beginning phase, the content will be accessible via Barça’s Twitter account in Spanish (@FCBarcelona_es) in order to reach the Latin American market and the followers of the club in this continent.

Comments

Dídac Lee, the director responsible for New Technologies at Barça, spoke positively about the deal:

“This project meets part of FC Barcelona’s objective to integrate its digital channels and social media networks within the strategy of giving visibility to its sponsors.”

Glenn Brown, director of Twitter Amplify

“This agreement represents a unique opportunity to develop a sponsorship package with FC Barcelona, one of the biggest football clubs in the world, and connect brands with millions of football fans via Twitter in Europe, Latin America and around the world.”

Tiago Pinto, marketing director of Gatorade in Latin America:

“Gatorade is proud to be the first FC Barcelona sponsor on the new Twitter Amplify platform. This opportunity allows us to continue pursuing solutions for sports supplements, with scientific basis, for FC Barcelona and footballers of all level, through Barça’s massive social media following and digital media audience.”

The second annual Barça 10K, officially called La Cursa Barça in the Catalan language, took the city of Barcelona by storm on Sunday, beginning and ending at Camp Nou, but not before meandering through the streets of the Catalan capital.

In the men's category, Ilias Fifa won the race for the second straight year with a time of 30 minutes 24 seconds. Jacqueline Martin was the first woman to cross the finish line, doing so in 37 minutes 15 seconds. Both winners are affiliated with FC Barcelona.

Total success

The 2015 Barça 10K exceeded expectations and had 3,483 participants. FC Barcelona Vice President JordiCardoner, who fired the opening gun, said that the race was "about more than sport, it's a social event, a celebration of integration that combines both city and Barça."

The race, which began at 9.00am CET outside Camp Nou and wnt through various Barcelona neighborhoods near the stadium, was the fruit of a strong backing by the Club's sponsors, including Nike, Audi, Maurice Lacroix, Coca-cola, Estrella Damm, Gatorade, Llet Nostra, Dinadax, l’Ajuntament de Barcelona, Smint, Fundació Atmetller, Rehabmedic and Nestlé. Also collaborating were media outlets La Vanguardia, El Periódico, Sport, Mundo Deportivo, Ara.cat, L’esportiu, Rac1 and Flaixfm.

Twenty-four-year-old Chinese journalist Tianqi Zhang lives in Barcelona, where she arrived last season as the football correspondent for her country's information portal Tencent Sport, which periodically publishes news, analysis, interviews and reports on the Spanish First Division. Her career as a sports journalist began at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where she was in charge of covering the Argentina national team at their training site in Belo Horizonte.

Not only does she have a passion for sport, but she also has passion for football, linguistically speaking. "Since I arrived in Barcelona, I've read a lot of sports news in the Spanish press, and as an old habit, I intuitively reflect in my head as I read in both Chinese in Spanish, and I often can't translate it." So the young journalist did something about it, recently starting a blog where she shares her thoughts on the language of football in Chinese and Spanish.

"It's an idea I've been thinking about since I arrived. I wanted to share my ideas and thoughts in Spanish, even though it's not my native language, and I wanted Spanish speakers to be able to read and understand me. For work I read a lot in the Spanish press about issues in football, and there is always a certain type of language that inevitably appears in a certain context."

Driven by her curiosity of the language of football, Tianqi began to jot down what she thought were the most interesting words that appeared in Spanish news pieces. Most of those words have an equivalent in Chinese, but some have no direct translation. For Tianqi, it was those words that were the most interesting, where the differences in culture could be seen. Words reflect culture, she thought.

On her blog she highlights as an example the Spanish word 'cantera' (in English it literally means 'quarry' but in the context of sport it takes on the idea of a "pool of young players") and she shares her analysis of the Chinese equivalent. "I really like the concept of the word for its metaphorical value because you can see how it relates to a 'quarry.' But the metaphorical sense is lost in translation and we just say "players from the reserve squad."

According Tianqi, the reason she created this mini bilingual dictionary was to facilitate a deeper understanding of sports journalism both for journalists and fans of both countries.

"Today, articles in the international press can be translated instantly upon publication, but the quality can certainly be improved. Not only that, rapid translations tend to cloud the depth of meaning, which is a real shame." It is for that reason that Tianqi decided to periodically post the most interesting words and phrases taken from Spanish newspapers each day.

Double meaning, double importance

Besides her forays into sports linguistics, it goes without saying that FC Barcelona not only means a lot to her but also to the Club's throngs of Chinese fans. "All the big cities in China have an FC Barcelona supporters club meeting place, and people come from everywhere to watch El Clásico.”

"For Chinese fans, Camp Nou is sacred, and Messi is God," she said.

As a consequence of the ban imposed by FIFA in 2014, FC Barcelona has presented a request to regularise the situation of, amongst others, five players from the youth teams.

The measure has been taken with regards to these players due to FIFA’s position which, in their understanding, does not allow the players to train, play or live at the Club’s facilities. FC Barcelona did not renew the licences of the players so that it could not be interpreted that a FIFA rule was not being adhered to.

As such, FC Barcelona has taken measure that it considers appropriate, respecting to the full the personal situations of each of those affected. The players have been kept informed at all times of the process that has led to the ending of their relationship with the Club.

FC Barcelona have been acknowledged on Monday by ECA (European Club Association) as the European Club of the Year in a dinner in Geneva ahead of the organisation’s General Assembly which will take place in the Swiss city on Tuesday and which will be attended by the FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The blaugrana Club was represented by the director of football management, Raul Sanllehí and the award was presented by the ECA president, Karl Heinz Rummenigge in recognition of successes of last season both domestically and internationally. It is the second time that Barça have received the prize, the first coming in 2011. In claiming it again this year they have became the first club to be recognised twice for their triumphs.

The dinner came ahead of the General Assembly which will take place on Tuesday morning local time in Geneva and will have Josep Maria Bartomeu in attendance. The meeting will have as its main business the election of 11 members to its Executive Committee who will be added to the four members who make up the UEFA Strategic Professional Football Committee, President Bartomeu, Umberto Gandini from AC Milan, Ivan Gazidis from Arsenal FC and Evgeni Giner (PFC CSKA Moskva). Once the committee’s members have been decided then a new president and three vice presidents will be appointed.

Following ECA General Assembly, Josep Maria Bartomeu will also attend the Strategic Professional Football Committee meeting which will take place on Wednesday at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon.

The Espai Barça continues to move forward. The competition for architectural projects for the construction of the New Camp Nou and the New Palau Blaugrana has moved into its second phase with the announcement of the list of finalists. The jury has chosen eight teams, the majority of whom are formed by an international studio and a local one and who will prepare their architectural proposals for the football stadium and one, and another six teams who will do the same for the New Palau, based on recommendations made by the technical commission, made up of the Espai Barça team and two architects representing the College of Catalan Architects (COAC).

The Espai Barça jury, as the Board of Directors announced on Monday, is formed by five members from the Club, three members from the COAC and one member from Barcelona CIty Council. The representatives from FC Barcelona are Josep Maria Bartomeu, Susana Monje, Jordi Moix, Emili Rousaud and the architect Juan Pablo Mitjans. The members from COAC are Lluís Comerón and the architects Arcadi Pla and Joan Forgas whilst the member from the City Council is Aurora López, City Director of Urban Planning.

The finalists will receive this evening all the necessary technical information for the carrying out of their projects, the regulations, criteria and technical documentation from the Espai Barça team. The studios will have until the end of the year to hand in their proposals. In the case of the competition for New Camp Nou, the teams will have three months and in the case of the New Palau, two and a half months. After a technical examination of the proposals presented according to the criteria established in the regulations for the second phase and the final selection of the candidates by the technical committee, the jury will announce the winning projects.

Statement from President Josep Maria Bartomeu:

"Today we have taken one step further in the development of the Espai Barça which the members voted for in a referendum. We began a few months ago with the awarding of Miniestadi project, which is already underway, and now the jury has gathered to choose the finalists — eight teams of architects for the New Camp Nou and six for the New Palau Blaugrana. It was hard work, we reviewed many documents and many proposals, and I think we made a good choice and I am very grateful to the jury their work. It is an independent jury, with experts in the world of architecture, engineering, construction, and thanks to them we can say that we are now starting this second phase, which is very important to the Espai Barça. We are very satisfied with the level of studies presented and we believe that those chosen include many of the best firms in the world that do this kind of sports architecture and in time we will see the fruits. Now we have to wait a few months to see the finalists' proposals and reconvene the jury."

Statement from Director Jordi Moix:

"The jury analysed studies from the technical committee and evaluated the 45 firms that made proposals for the Stadium and the Palau and, following the criteria outlined in the tender, the looked mainly at experience in these types of facilities, both stadiums and arenas; the teams got together along with thetechnical consultants who were experts in structures, facilities, roofs that collaborated with the candidates. We then chose the eight teams for Camp Nou and six for the Palau that we thought we could work with under theconditions that were outlined. Now, in this second phase, the finalists will work during the next three months according to the requirements that we set forth, from a construction, volume and operations point of view, and they'll develop their projects. At the end of the year we'll take a look at the projects and choose two winning proposals."

The finalists

For the New Camp Nou:

-       AECOM + B720 ARQUITECTES

-       ARUP SPORT + TALLER D’ARQUITECTURA R. BOFILL

-       BIG + IDOM + BAAS ARQUITECTES

-       GENSLER SPORT + OAB

-       HKS + COX + BATLLE I ROIG ARQUITECTES

-       KSS + MATEO ARQUITECTURA

-       NIKKEN SEKKEI + PASCUAL I AUSIÓ ARQUITECTES

-       POPULOUS + MIAS ARQUITECTES + RCR ARQUITECTES

For the New Palau Blaugrana:

-       DOMINIQUE PERRAULT ARCHITETURE + MASSIP-BOSCH ARQUITECTES

-       GMP + GCA ARQUITECTES

-       HOK + TAC ARQUITECTES

-       MAKE + BCQ ARQUITECTES

-       MANGADO ARQUITECTOS + BACH ARQUITECTES + R. SANABRIA ARQUITECTES + I. PARICIO

-       WILKINSON EYRE ARCHITECTS + A. BALAGUER RIERA ARQUITECTES

In this musical video you can look back at the best moments from the 2015 Cursa Barça that took place last Sunday with its start and finish at Camp Nou. The second edition of this 10km race saw more than 3,400 runners take part, many of whom were Barça members and fans. The Barça athletes Illias Fifa and Jacqueline Martín were the winners in the male and female categories respectively.

Today in Beijing, FC Barcelona and smartphone manufacturer OPPO made official the sponsorship agreement that they signed last May 31. The agreement is the largest investment ever made by a Chinese company for sponsorship of a European football club.

At a press conference held in the Hotel Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing, the Club’s official sponsor unveiled the FC Barcelona Edition of the R7 Plus, which has been created to celebrate the three-year deal with the football club.

Manel Arroyo, vice-president and head of the Marketing and Communications Area, attended the event in representation of FC Barcelona, along with the Club’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director Xavier Asensi. The global smartphone company was represented by Sky Li, the vice-president of OPPO and managing director of International Mobile Business.

Around 100 people, 80% of whom represented the Chinese media, attended the presentation. The other 20% came from the international media.

As a result of this agreement, which was handled from the Barça offices in Hong Kong and makes OPPO the club’s official sponsor in the mobile telephones category for the next three years, the two parties will collaborate on a wide range of activities and products, including football events, fan activities and TV advertisements. OPPO has already been visible at first team matches in the Camp Nou since the season’s debut on August 29 against Malaga.

This is FC Barcelona’s first confirmed global sponsorship agreement in China and the second signed by the Club in the country since the 2013 opening of the office in Hong Kong, making Barça the first Spanish football club to achieve this goal.

OPPO, constantly developing technology

OPPO is a smartphone manufacturer that distributes devices to more than 20 different countries, including China, Australia and Mexico, as well as other important areas such as Southeast Asia, Southern Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and currently has plans for further expansion. It is also famous for its premium Blu-ray players that it distributes all around the world and for its DVD players in the United States and Europe.

The FC Barcelona Edition of the R7 Plus, which will come to market under the slogan ‘The Smartphone of Champions,’ has the FCB crest on the back, as well as a Barça themed wallpaper and screensaver. It will also include an exclusive leather case only available to users who acquire a model of this unique phone.

5.000 units will be distributed internationally both online and offline and a charity auction will he held for a special edition featuring the autographs of some of the best FC Barcelona players, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Foundation.

More information: http://global.oppo.com

Statement by Manel Arroyo, vice-president of FC Barcelona:

"It is an honour for FC Barcelona to announce today in Beijing this new sponsorship agreement with OPPO, a company the stands out in design and quality, and with which we share the values of effort, ambition, teamwork, and the desire to be number one. With this partnership we are convinced that together we are beginning a long journey full of success that will bring us closer to our fans in China and around the world."

Statement by Sky Li, vice-president of OPPO and managing director of International Mobile Business:

"As OPPO continues its global expansion strategy, this partnership with the universally-loved FC Barcelona will enable us to reach even more global consumers at a faster and more dynamic pace.”

Josep Maria Bartomeu has taken part today in the ECA General Assembly in Geneva. The main order of business was the composition of the Executive Commission, of which the blaugrana president will continue to be a member for the next two years as he is one of the organisation’s representatives on the UEFA Strategic Committee. The new executive has reelected Karl Heinz Rummenigge as president of the European Club Association.

In the Assembly a proposition was put forward in favour of the refugees who are currently arriving in Europe. The idea is that each of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League make a donation of a euro for each ticket sold in the first game of European competition in their respective stadiums. The ECA will bring the donations together and will distribute them to various European organizations who are involved in helping the refugees. He next few days more details will be announced and it is expected that FC Barcelona will play their part in their first home this season in the Champions League on 29 September against Bayer Leverkusen.

Furthermore, before the meeting, president Bartomeu was congratulated by ECA president Karl Heinz Rummenigge after the organisation had recognised Barça as the best European club of the year. The award was received during a dinner prior to the meeting and was collected on the Club’s behalf by director of football management Raul Sanllehí.

President Bartomeu is expected to travel on Wednesday to UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon to take part in the organizations Strategic Committee, formed by members of UEFA, EPFL – professional leagues – Fifpro – Footballers’ Unions and ECA, who , aside from Bartomeu, have Umberto Gandini (AC Milan), Ivan Gazidis (Arsenal FC) and Evgeni Giner (PFC CSKA Moscou) as representatives on the committee.

FC Barcelona, represented by Manel Arroyo, vice president of Marketing and Communication, attended on Wednesday the presentation of the televesion channel BeIN Sports in Spain. The event took place in the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and was a veritable who’s who in the world of football, sport in general and media.

Manel Arroyo confessed to the BeIN Sports microphone that the new channel “is one the principal figures in the football universe” and he wished “good luck” to those in charge and working at the new channel. At the event the CEO of FC Barcelona Ignacio Mestre was also present.

The presentation of the new channel was led by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of BeIN Sports International as well as Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet, founders of Mediapro and partners of BeIn Sports in Spain.

Other figures present at the launch were Miguel Cardenal, president of the Sports Council, Javier Tebas, president of the Professional Football League, the presidents of various First Division clubs and ex-players Andoni Zubizarreta and Jorge Valdano.

BeIN Sports come to Spain via the Mediapro Group. With a presence in the Middle East, North Africa, France, USA, Canada , Indonesia, the Phillipines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia, the new channel offers football from all over the world, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The demo version of EA SPORTS video game FIFA 16 is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation®4, PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation®3, and is free to download.

The launch of the demo presents the chance for FIFA fans to experience the new game modes, innovations, graphics and soundtrack before the final edition goes on sale from 24 September in Europe.

FC Barcelona fans will have the opportunity to play with Messi, Neymar and Suárez, as the Catalans are one of ten clubs to choose from on the free FIFA 16 demo.

The main features of the FIFA 16 demo:

• Kick-Off: jump onto the pitch and play a match. When starting the FIFA 16 Demo for the first time on PC, Xbox One, or PS4, you will begin at El Clasico, Real Madrid C.F. at home to FC Barcelona.
• FIFA Ultimate Team Draft: experience a brand new way to play - FUT Draft. Make careful decisions as you build a squad, then take them onto the pitch in an offline match.
• FIFA Trainer: everyone can Compete at a Higher Level in FIFA 16. Check out the FIFA Trainer, a new contextual training system, to pick up some new tips while playing Kick Off or FUT Draft.
• New Skill Games: while matches are loading you'll have a chance to try out six new skill games.
• Bundesliga Broadcast Presentation: experience authentic broadcast graphics on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 when Borussia Dortmund visits Borussia Mönchengladbach at BORUSSIA-PARK.

Player ratings

EA SPORTS and FIFA 16 have also revealed the ratings of the whole Barça squad. Here is the complete list of Luis Enrique’s roster: http://o.ea.com/43098

Note: 
*The release date is subject to change without notice.
**Women's teams compete exclusively against other women's national teams.

Follow the official presentation of Lassa Tyres as principal sponsor for the professional sections clicking here.

At its regular board meeting held on Monday, the Board has approved the budget for the 2015/16 season, which will be submitted for final approval by the members at the next Assembly of Delegates, which is scheduled for the weekend of 24 and 25 October.

The budget for the 2015/16 season forecasts record revenues of 633 million euros, while EBITDA will exceed 120 million euros and a net profit of 20.2 million euros

As part of the restructuring process that President Josep Maria Bartomeu has been implementing in recent weeks, the Board of Directors, following a meeting this afternoon, has decided to regroup all of the Club’s business areas in order to optimize their efforts and strategies. In this regard, a macro-level business department is to be set up, led by a new commercial manager, who will be working to promote FC Barcelona’s Sales Units; the Asian and American Offices in Hong Kong and New York; the Exploitation of the Stadium and Facilities, Marketing and Strategy; Audiovisual Media and E-Commerce; Licenses and Merchandising; and the Football and Basketball Schools and Camps.

Francesco Calvo, new commercial director

FC Barcelona’s new commercial director will be Francesco Calvo, who until a few days ago was Sales Manager at Juventus FC. He is Italian and has academic qualifications in Business Administration specializing in strategic marketing, and will join the Club on October 1. Calvo worked for many years at the prestigious Italian club, where he has gathered in-depth knowledge of the football business, the generation of income and sponsorship deals.

As his responsibilities increased, Calvo was put in charge of the Juventus’ commercial plans and strategies, generation of income, financial sustainability, licenses and the implementation and development of new digital platforms. Calvo has also held managerial positions at Philip Morris International and Marlboro Motorsports Global Communication, and his representation of these companies led to his involvement in the business side of such events as the World F1 Championship and Moto GP.

Arno Trabesinger, new manager of the American Office in New York

Also on October 1, a new manager will be taking over at FC Barcelona’s American offices in New York. Arno Trabesinger was, until now, the managing director of the international sponsorship agency WWP for the Iberian Peninsula, based in Barcelona, and which specializes in sports marketing.

His university studies were focused on communication science, political science and journalism. Trabesinger has a strong background of involvement in major marketing projects and his experience has served in such business areas as the World Skiing Championship, the World F1 Championship, Moto GP and the European football market, where he has worked for such companies as Bwin, Audi, Red Bull, Seat, Repsol, Western Union and BMW. An Austrian national, his areas of expertise are strategic planning, the implementation of business projects, human resources and the administration of sales offices.

Pancho Schröder, new director of Corporate Area

Another approved addition to the Board of Directors is the creation of a Corporate Area which will be responsible for Administration, Human Resources, Systems, Innovation, Purchasing and Operations. Leading this new area will be Pancho Schröder as the new corporate director.

Born in Germany and with an MBA from IESE Barcelona & Tucck School, Schröder was CFO of Catalan company Agora Invest from 2014. He was previously CFO of Grup Electro-Stocks (2007-2014) and of Dogi International Fabrics (2001-2007). In his career, he has also passed through RBA Editores, Derbi and General Motors

Travel for members and supporters clubs

The implementation of the proposed travel of members and supporters with the first team, one of the commitments made by the current Board of Directors during the election campaign for the presidency of the club, has also been agreed. Offers for upcoming trips will soon be announced.

Campaign in favour of refugees

The Board has approved the launch of a charity project to help refugees, of which the media will be informed in the coming days.

The University of FC Barcelona

The Board has commissioned director Jordi Monés to begin to develop a proposal on what the future of University of FC Barcelona should be.

Duties of the directors of the Social Area

The club has assigned the duties that correspond to each of the directors of the Social Area: Pau Vilanova, Barça Players Association and Clubs; Oriol Tomàs, Youth Commission; Maria Teixidor, Children and Elderly; Emili Rousaud, Social Clubs; and Joan Bladé and Josep Ramon Vidal-Abarca who form part of the Social Area.

Appointment of members of the Social Committee

Josep Maria Barnils, chief director; Jordi Durà, Santi Casas, Víctor Küppers, Jaume Carreter, Òscar Cerreon, Ferran Hernández, Roser Tiana and Santi Cruylles.

Appointment of members of the Supporters Club Committee

Dani Sala, Manel Costa, Xavi Ilincheta, Griselda Soteras, Elvira Pou, Manel Torrentallé and Cerni Areny.

This morning, FC Barcelona and Lassa Tyres officially presented the sponsorship deal that they signed on June 2 last year and which makes Turkey’s leading tyre manufacturer  the main sponsor of the professional sections, and at the same time an official partner of the Club in relation to football. The agreement is until 30 June 2019, and is a first for FC Barcelona, as the professional sports sections (basketball, handball, futsal and roller hockey) have never before shared the same main sponsor.

The presentation took place in the Ricard Maxenchs pressroom at the Camp Nou, and was attended by FCB president Josep Maria Bartomeu, vice-president and head of the Marketing and Communication Area, Manel Arroyo, as well as the captains of each of the professional sections. Lassa Tyres, the Official Tyre of FC Barcelona, was represented by Hakan Bayman, (Brisa management board member), and Yiğit Gürçay, director general of Brisa, which owns the Lassa Tyres name and was founded 41 years ago.

Since the start of this season, the professional sports sections have been wearing the logo of Lassa Tyres on the front of their shirts and they have all been known by the same name: ‘FC Barcelona Lassa’. Today, before the presentation, the handball, futsal and roller hockey teams all posed for their official photographs wearing the new kit. The President and the teams also appeared in photos with the representatives of Lassa Tyres.

The agreement between FC Barcelona and the Brisa company, Europe’s seventh biggest tyre manufacturer, offers Lassa Tyres, among other benefits, association and image rights, including in the digital area, as well as promotion and hospitality rights, both in relation to the professional sports teams and the Palau Blaugrana pavilion, and for football and the Camp Nou stadium.

This deal marks yet another step forward in FC Barcelona’s ties with the Turkish market. Barça is one of the most followed clubs on social networks in the country, with 11.5 million potential fans. Its Facebook account has 2.5 million followers, placing it seventh in the overall ranking, and Istanbul is twentieth in the worldwide list of cities, with 550,000 followers on the social network. Turkey is also one of the countries with the most followers of the @fcbarcelona Twitter account.

Statement by Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of FC Barcelona:

With this agreement with Lassa Tyres we have achieved an objective that was a long time in the making by obtaining a global sponsor for FC Barcelona's professional sections. This sponsorship is a boost for our teams and demonstrates our clear commitment towards strengthening the Club's multisport philosophy. This sponsorship will allow us to extend our presence not only to Turkey, a country where the Club evokes admiration and draws more fans every day, but also worldwide.

Statement by Manel Arroyo, vice president of FC Barcelona:

This agreement is further proof of the Club's internationalisation and is part of our strategy to expand FC Barcelona's presence worldwide. Our chosen partner, Lassa Tyres, is a brand that shares our commitment to having a global presence. Moreover, the Turkish market is key for us according to data that situate Barça as the most followed football club in the country. This sponsorship will also reaffirm our ties with Turkey, where we already have other important sponsors, and will bring us closer to the country's fans.