The Clásico is always a special match, and even more so when there’s a spot in the Cup final up for grabs. FC Barcelona will provide 90,000 flags for Club members and fans that come to the Camp Nou to watch the showdown between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The flags, which are made of fabric, display the Barça shield surrounded by blue and red and the Catalan Senyera.

The match is less than a day away and there are still a few tickets available, meaning there’s still time to witness one of the most attractive football displays on the planet. So far this season, the games against Real Madrid have been the most attended matches at the Camp Nou. In the Liga showdown, 96,589 fans flocked to the stadium and in the Super Cup, 91,728 fans filled the Camp Nou. The matches against Atlético Madrid and Getafe are the third and fourth best attended matches of the year, with 86,637 and 85,610 fans, respectively.

Buy your ticket FCB - Real Madrid

FC Barcelona has been a major supporter in recent years of the consolidation of its home city as the venue for the  Mobile World Congress (MWC 2013), the most important mobile technology fair in the world. Barça’s active role has helped establish its position in the world market, and this year the Club will be working throughout the MWC13 to establish collaboration agreements with some of the biggest names in the sector.

GSMA, the organisers of the Mobile World Congress, named Barcelona as the Mobile World Capital until 2018. This has brought major economic benefits to the city, estimated at around 3,500 million euros over six years.

The Club’s support for the MWC to remain in Barcelona is part of its strategy to help with any projects that foster the image and economy of the city and nation. The collaboration agreement between the Mobile World Congress and FC Barcelona was sealed last year in the presence of the delegate councillor for GSMA, John Hoffman, FCB president Sandro Rosell, and the director responsible for new technologies, Dídac Lee. “We believe this to be a great opportunity for the city and the club”, said Dídac Lee at the time.

Lee, President Rosell and first team star Cesc Fàbregas have also recorded welcome messages for the millions of visitors that will either be coming in person to the MWC or will be attending the many activities in virtual fashion via the event’s website.

FCB Apps sets new technological standards

FC Barcelona is working actively to use digital products and services adapted to different supports and platforms to get closer to its fans and members. New technologies, and most particularly Smartphones and mobiles apps are a terrific way of spreading the Barça message around the world. As Dídac Lee has said, “FC Barcelona wants to set world standards for technology. We have covered a lot of ground but there is still a lot to do”.

Over the last year, FCB has been developing its FCB Apps Programme to bolster the mobile sector in the country and support young developers and companies in this field of technology. Over the next few months, the Club will be launching even more mobile apps thanks to this programme, with several official apps already available on the market, namely FCB iCroms Evolution, FCB Toons Town, FCB Team Cam, FCB Fantasy Manager 2013, FCB Starscup, FCB Regal Shootout, FCB Live!, FCB World Tap and FCB Watch.

FCB APPS

The Barcelona Supporters Services Office, the Barcelona Supporters Clubs Services Office, the Specialised Care Office and the current Census Office are all being moved to the new headquarters, located in the former Palau Blaugrana 2 building next to the ticket offices in Travessera de les Corts. While the removals operations are in progress, all of the offices and services will be closed from March 2 to 4.

On March 5, the Social Area will be reopening and normal service will resume, but now from a newer, larger and more modern facility.

Larger and more comfortable location

It is FC Barcelona’s desire for this new facility to centralise all of the different services on offer to members, supporters clubs and fans in general, at the same time offering a more comfortable and accessible site for both employees and users. The building will also be home to a new events room with the capacity for 600 people, as well as a catering area and a members meeting point.

Although an independent entity, the space will also be used by the Club’s new travel agency, and will also be the new site for the Members Ombudsman’s Office.

The Camp Nou was packed with important personalities for the second leg of the Champions League semi final. In addition to directors of both clubs, other guests included the former President of the Generalitat Pasqual Maragall, the Mayor of Barcelona Xavier Trias, councillors Santi Vila and Ferran Mascarell, the General Secretary for Sport Ivan Tibau and the president of the Catalan Federation Andreu Subies.
They were joined by a large number of dignitaries who are in Barcelona because of the Mobile World Congress, an event that was represented at the match by its president, John Hoffman.

Vieri and Shevchenko, Barça admirers

The personages watching from the presidential box included several footballers, one of which was former FCB man Juliano Belletti, the scorer of the second goal at the Champions league final in Paris. “It’s some time since I’ve been back” he said. “I haven’t been here since I left for Chelsea (2007). It’s a great feeling.”

Other players included Cristian Vieri and Andrei Shevchenko. Speaking to Barça TV, the Italian said “Barça are always the favourites for me because they play the best football in the world”. The Ukrainian spoke along similar lines. “It is very nice to watch players like Messi, Iniesta and Xavi in this team” he said, before emphatically insisting that “Messi is the best player in history”.

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The visit last week to Israel and Palestine by a delegation from FC Barcelona, led by President Sandro Rosell and Vice-President Javier Faus, has been widely reported both in local and international news media.

The announcement of the possibility of playing a friendly in Tel Aviv between FC Barcelona and a side made up of Israeli and Palestinian players, has made a big impression on public opinion, given the importance of the initiative in building bridges between two historically antagonistic communities.
News agencies such as Associated Press, France Presse, Reuters and EFE have reported on the meetings with Israeli President Shimon Peres and the President of the Palestine National Authority Mahmud Abbas, and the information has been subsequently taken up by leading international news outlets such as British daily newspaper 'The Guardian' and TV channels France 24 and ABC News.

The BBC correspondent in Jerusalem also covered the story in full, highlighting the comments of Sandro Rosell in which he stated: "FC Barcelona wants to make a modest contribution to build bridges of understanding and harmony between the Israeli and Palestinian people through sports and education."

Wide coverage in leading Israeli media

The visit was also widely reported in the Israeli press. The main daily newspapers put it on their front pages on Friday while the influential 'Haaretz', 'Jerusalem Post', 'Yedioth Ahronoth' and 'Israel Hayom' opened their sports sections with the visit of FC Barcelona.

'Yedioth Ahronoth', the most popular daily in the country, had special coverage of the visit the Barça delegation made on Friday to some of the most emblematic sites in Jerusalem.

On the same day, Barça also featured in Israeli TV Channel 2 programme 'Ulpan Shishi' which, with a 20% audience share, is one of the most widely watched news programmes in the country. The spectators were treated to an extensive report on the Club including interviews with Xavi, Messi and president Rosell.

Coverage in Arab and Palestinian media

The Palestinian media, as well as Arab media in general, also covered in great detail the meeting between Mr Rosell and President Mahmud Abbas at the headquarters of the PNA in Ramallah. The Barça delegation was warmly received in Palestine, a fact that was highlight by the local media. Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Federation and member of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, singled out FC Barcelona as the most popular football team in the country and one of the best in the world. In spite of the difficulties, the Palestinian media – including the influential Watan’ - echoed the words of hope expressed by Rajoub. "The idea presented to us by President Rosell is good and we will analyse it with good intentions”.

Club president Sandro Rosell told CNN: “It’s crucial the way we address the future of new technologies and social media because it’s the only way to grow”. The interview with Mr. Rosell is part of a CNN report on FC Barcelona in which they put the Club forward as a world innovator in mobile technology and applications.

The Mobile World Congress 2013 is taking place this week in Barcelona and has highlighted the leading role of companies and institutions like FC Barcelona in the world of mobile technology, offering services and content to fans around the world. According to CNN, the Club is a world innovator in apps with a wide range of services and leisure content.

The report by Kristie Lou Stout underlines that the Club is activity working to reach out to its fans with digital products and services adapted to mobiles. In particular, CNN points to the recently created FCB Apps Programme aimed at developers and technology companies for the creation of new official applications. As an example, Board member Dídac Lee pointed to one of the apps soon to be launched, FCB Fitness. As well as playing a leading part in consolidating Barcelona as Mobile World Capital from 2013 to 2018, Barça is showing the way forward in social media and has developed a mobile strategy to strengthen the Barça spirit around the world. The CNN report is yet another recognition of the active role of the Club in consolidating its technology strategy.

The Club has set up an on-line ticket purchasing system at the official www.fcbarcelona.com website and all available tickets will be up for sale. Because the Club uses the Seient Lliure system, the number of tickets available will depend on those freed up by season ticket holders.

Sales are limited to a maximum of two tickets each person and sale. Members will have a 20% discount on the first ticket purchased. On.line sales are via www.fcbarcelona.com and Ticketmaster and tickets can also be purchased in person at the Club ticket offices.

FCB v MILAN TICKETING

On Saturday March 9th, when Barça host Deportivo, the Club will also pay homage the writers of the official club anthem, ‘Cant del Barça’, which was written by Josep Maria Espinàs, Jaume Picas and Manuel Valls. Espinàs will receive the Club’s official recognition in front of the Camp Nou fans on behalf of the writers and their families before kick off on Saturday.

The ‘Cant del Barça’, which was written in Catalan, was first heard on November 27th 1974 at the Camp Nou during celebrations to mark the Club’s 75th anniversary, presided over by Agustí Montal. The song was sung by 3,500 choir members, led by Oriol Martorell and was an immediate success. The song is now one of the most popular in the country and has acquired a global presence, sung as it is by Barça fans all over the world.

“Each line contains an idea”, key to song’s success

Josep Maria Espinàs believes the secret of the song’s success is: “it’s really very easy – each line contains an idea, ‘Tot el camp és un clam’, ‘som la gent blaugrana’, ‘tant se val d’on venim’… each sentence carries a strong idea and that helps to understand it. You can only have thousands of people singing an anthem like that together if it’s written with pauses between each line and ever line says something”.

The ‘Cant del Barça’ reflects many of the Club’s distinctive values, such as unity, integration and universality and it is the focal point for the fans’ support, when the players run out onto the Camp Nou pitch before a game. In big matches the stadium loudspeakers will be turned off during the song to accentuate the emotional effect of the fans unaccompanied singing.

Anthem History

Camp Nou Soundmap

1. The Clásico Preview at Camp Nou

2. Legendary Goals: Ronaldinho (1st half)

3. Training Session: February 26th at Camp Nou

4. 90,000 flags to usher in the Cup Clásico

5. Legendary Goals: Ronaldinho (2nd half)

This Monday evening the Old Estrella Damm Factory hosted the second edition of the Gala of the Stars of Catalan Football, where the best players, managers and referees of football and futsal are acknowledged for their feats in 2012. The event was dominated by FC Barcelona, seeing that four of the nine awards were given to Barça players and managers.

Sergio Busquets named best player of the year

One of the big protagonists of the event was Sergio Busquets, who was named Best Player of the Year. After receiving the trophy, the midfielder said that he’s “very happy and not very accustomed to winning individual awards. I want to enjoy the moment and thank everyone that made this possible and my teammates.”

Sergio also talked about Tito Vianova and he declared that “the important thing is his health. He’s going through a difficult time but he’s very strong and positive and he knows that we are all behind him.” He added: “for us it’s not easy, we started well and now we’ve had to give more of ourselves along with Roura and the rest of the coaching staff ... We want our first half of the season to translate into titles.”

Carmona and Torras win back-to-back awards

Moving on to Catalan futsal, Barça Alusport took home the Best Manager award, Marc Carmona, and the Best Player award, Jordi Torras, for the second year in a row. “Awards for managers come from winning titles and that’s thanks to the players,” said Carmona. Torras highlighted that “we had a spectacular year, we won every title in play. I’m very pleased for the team and the image we gave of ourselves, that’s what people remember.”

Barça well represented

FC Barcelona vice-president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, led the FC Barcelona delegation at the Gala of the Stars of Catalan Football. He was accompanied by Club directors Jordi Mestre and Javier Bordas, Club football director Andoni Zubizarreta, and director general of FC Barcelona professional teams, Joan Carles Raventós. In addition, Xavi Hernández and Leo Messi accompanied Sergio Busquets.

The Club has set up an on-line ticket purchasing system at the official www.fcbarcelona.com website and all available tickets will be up for sale. Because the Club uses the Seient Lliure system, the number of tickets available will depend on those freed up by season ticket holders.

Sales are limited to a maximum of two tickets each person and sale. Members will have a 20% discount on the first ticket purchased. On.line sales are via www.fcbarcelona.com and Ticketmaster and tickets can also be purchased in person at the Club ticket offices.

FCB v MILAN TICKETING

The new Social Area is up and running after it was moved to its new location. The Barcelonista Service Office (OAB), the Supporters Clubs Service Office (OAP) and the Specialised Service Office (OAE), as well as the Census Office, have all been moved to their new locations at the remodeled Palau Blaugrana 2, adjacent to the ticketing booths on Travessera de Les Corts.

The new social headquarters is designed to improve the Club's services in a more enjoyable and historic location. The building meshes functionality, aesthetics and greater integration with the neighbourhood of Les Corts. In addition, the space boasts a new meeting hall that can host up to 600 people, as well as a food court and a meeting place for Club members.

The Club will give guided tours of the new space to the press on March 7.

The 13th Section of the Provincial Court of Barcelona has announced its ruling to dismiss the appeal of the sentence imposed on February 22 of 2013 on Mr Joan Laporta and the members of his Board of Directors by the Court of Primera Instancia number 30 of Barcelona on indictment number 1533/2010, which wholly dismissed the legal challenge of the General Assembly of October 16 of 2010.

The ruling of the Provincial Court also imposes the incurred legal costs of the defendants on the plaintiffs.

The principal arguments of the ruling are as follows: (i) scrupulous observation of the right to prior information, (ii) the figure of the President was not impersonated by the Secretary, (iii) The exposure of ‘due diligence’ did not influence voting results; (iv) liquidation of the 2009/2010 fiscal year presented to the General Assembly complies with statutory requirements and reflects an accurate picture on the Entity’s economic outlook; (v) did not impede Mr Laporta from participating in the General Assembly; (vi) the legal rights of the plaintiffs were not infringed upon and the legal or statutory provisions were not violated.

From this point on, the cause of suspension of the action of responsibility approved by the General Assembly is without effect.

FC Barcelona expresses its satisfaction with this new judicial declaration of validity of the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly on October 16 of 2010.

FC Barcelona is gathering information to study possible options to develop future Club installations. The long analytical process is still in its embryonic stage and it will be informed by various independent studies. The Club has commissioned an internal team to coordinate the process and it has contracted three international firms to develop reports on market research, design and large sporting venues and arenas. The three international firms are ISG (United Kingdom), AEG (United States), and Icon Venue Group (United States).

The market research study includes a Club member survey, which will also be directed towards corporate clients and perspective businesses, that will analyse the growth potential of services and revenue that could derive from a possible new football stadium or a new Palau.

ISG will conduct the survey through its investigation division, Comperio Research, who are specialists in information gathering, optimisation, finding new revenue streams and improving the experience of fans at stadiums. ISG and Comperio Research have worked on over 60 stadium and arena projects around the world, among them the new Wembley stadium in London, the Maracaná in Brazil, the Turk Telecom Arena in Istanbul and the new International Stadium in Stockholm.

Online survey

7,000 to 10,000 Club members will be surveyed in addition to FC Barcelona’s corporate clients. ISG selected the sample group at random, ensuring a representative and holistic representation of the Club’s social constituency. The survey will be conducted online. It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and it consists of questions about possible facility improvements and existing concerns.

All of the products that are displayed in the survey are simulations of hypothetical options that will help guide and define the final product. The survey will be conducted in mid March and the results will be confidential and protected.

On Wednesday, the FCBVirtual Tour (www.fcbvirtualtour.com) was presented, a unique digital experience that takes users right inside the FC Barcelona facilities in interactive fashion from anywhere in the world. The web-based app is the most realistic and complete interactive digital experience available for enjoying the Club’s facilities and history.

FCBVIRTUALTOUR

L’FCB Tour Virtual està composat per 250 fotografies esfèriques aèrees i terrestres d’alta qualitat. Les imatges esfèriques han estat ordenades reproduint un recorregut virtual de la manera més intuïtiva per als usuaris. Definits els recorreguts s’ha creat una interfície amb botons, icones i fletxes que guien l’experiència interactiva.

L’empresa Sky & Earth -de l’ex jugador Salvador Garcia, Salva- ha estat l’encarregada de desenvolupar l’FCB Virtual Tour utilitzant processos i elements tecnològics pioners. L’FCB Virtual Tour conté fotografies esfèriques terrestres i aèries amb una excel·lent qualitat de zoom i de resolució. Aquesta aplicació web està disponible de forma gratuïta per a PC, MAC, tablets i smartphones i es pot gaudir en català, castellà, anglès i xinès. El FCB Virtual Tour ofereix diferents possibilitats per tal que els usuaris gaudeixin de l’experiència, ja sigui a través de la consulta de zones que s’ofereixen de manera gratuïta, com d’altres zones restringides i exclusives per les quals l’usuari haurà de realitzar un micropagament per gaudir d’aquests continguts. Així mateix, s’ofereixen diferents paquets d’experiències que l’usuari podrà accedir a la compra per a gaudir de les zones exclusives que més desitgi.

Per a Dídac Lee, directiu responsable de Noves Tecnologies, “aquest és el producte digital del Barça més global al servei dels milions de barcelonistes d’arreu del món. Amb FCB Virtual Tour volem arribar a tots els nostres fans estiguin on estiguin”.

Aquest tour esfèric és capaç d’integrar qualsevol element multimedia, des de galeries d’imatges, textos desplaçables, vídeos, sons, objectes 3D, vincles web i pdf interactius. Amb FCB Virtual Tour podem visitar espais desconeguts per la majoria dels seguidors barcelonistes. Així, podem recòrrer el Camp Nou i els seus indrets més exclusius, passant pel vestuari, la llotja presidencial, el Miniestadi, els camps d’entrenament, la Masia–Centre de Formació Oriol Tort i la Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.

Due to the overlap this Saturday with the first team football match between FC Barcelona and Deportivo de la Coruña (8 pm), parking restrictions will be in force for supporters who wish to go to the Palau to watch the handball and to the Miniestadi to watch Barça B. In line with previous practice when there has been a football match in the Camp Nou, it will therefore not be possible to park your car within the confines of the Club.

May we remind you that there is a handball league match at 6 pm in the Palau Blaugrana between Barça Intersport and Villa de Aranda, and at the same time Barça B will take on Cordoba in a Second Division clash in the Miniestadi.

Only members who have a Camp Nou parking season ticket may park within the confines of the stadium. Access for these vehicles will be by Gate 14 only.

The new Social Area, located in the old Palau Blaugrana 2, was officially inaugurated this Thursday at midday. President Sandro Rosell visited the new facilities accompanied by vice-president Jordi Cardoner i Casaus and Club directors Toni Freixa, Jordi Moix, Eduard Coll, Pilar Guinovart, Jordi Mestre and Josep Ramón Vidal-Abarca.

Prior to the visit there was a press conference with vice-president Jordi Cardoner, Board member Jordi Moix and the architect of the project Robert Blanch, in the Ricard Maxenchs Press Room. After the visit there was a closing ceremony in the Auditorium 1899, which can hold up to 700 people.

History at the service of the membership

The modern and functional premises of the new Social Area provide a full range of services for the membership, housing the OAB, the OAP and the OAE as well as the Office of the Members’ Ombudsman. It is a fully integrated office focused on one of the most important, most highly valued and, without a doubt, the most distinctive feature of FC Barcelona: the membership.

The new Social Area has been renovated with the history of the Club very much at the fore, maintaining the structure of the Palau Blaugrana 2, as well as a football practice wall, a symbol that planted the seed of the spirit of the Masia.

You can see the history of the building and the renovation process in this presentation.

Usual opening times for OAP

In spite of the change of location, the OAP continues to serve the supporters’ clubs as always, in person, by email or by phone at the usual times.

To check out the opening times and for information on contacting the OAP, please click here.

The new Club Social HQ and Auditorium 1899 were officially presented at midday this Thursday by Social Area vice-president, Jordi Cardoner, the Board member for the Patrimony Dept, Jordi Moix, and Albert Blanch, the architect of the project which has transformed a disused sports facility (Palau Blaugrana 2) into a multifunctional building. According to Cardoner, “the space will be a meeting place for Barça supporters”.

Among other facilities, the building will house the OAB, OAP, the OAE and a cafeteria. The vice-president explained: “Our aim is to try and understand the needs of every specific group and to improve the service”.

Dignity, warmth and functionality

Moving these offices also has another clear aim, as expressed by Cardoner: “We wanted to dignify our facilities for fans and employees and to make the club more welcoming so that members and fans could use them 365 days a year”. For this reason, he explained what they had been looking for in the new facilities: “To combine the dignity of the social space with criteria of functionality and make use of the assets of the Club without losing sight of our history”.

Opening up to Les Corts

Cardoner also referred to the Barça’s “unfinished business”: “To open up the Camp Nou to the neighbourhood. We consider ourselves just another local resident and we wanted to take away architectural barriers to integration, opening up to la Travessera, as the Club was oriented to the north.

Jordi Moix explained: “The new space is the result of a series of actions taken in the Stadium over the last two years by the Patrimony dept. The new Club Social HQ and Auditorium 1899 reinforce the patrimonial philosophy. They are a trial run for the future Barça Space and create a new entrance to the ground from Les Corts”.

Social and economic use

In his speech, Moix pointed out that the old Picadero “has had different uses historically, and now it will be social and economic”. The architect Albert Blanch explained that the removal of architectural barriers has involved a sensitive but complete overhaul of the facilities: “The structure and the old brick walls of the Palau Blaugrana 2 are prominently featured, because of regulations and common sense”.