Located on a swathe of land in Sant Joan Despí, just five kilometres from Camp Nou, the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper officially opened its doors on 1 June 2006. The Club’s president at the time was Joan Laporta, although the tract was purchased nine years before by the Board of Directors of then-president Josep Lluís Núñez. Bureaucratic red tape, though, delayed ground-breaking until the winter of 2002, when Joan Gaspart was at the helm of the Club.

The inauguration itself was more symbolic than anything, since activity had begun in earnest on 10 May, 2006 with training sessions of the Club’s youth academy players.

A slew of Club and local officials attended the event, including Laporta; Secretary General of Sports of the Catalan Government, Manuel Ibern; President of the Catalan Football Federation, Jordi Roche; the Mayor of Sant Joan Despí, Antoni Poveda; and two grandchildren of FC Barcelona’s founder Joan Gamper: Manel and Xavier Gamper.

Ten years later, the Ciutat Esportiva is one of the Club’s most important symbols. It is where the youth players grow up, and where they train, play, and learn FC Barcelona’s values. And they do it right next to the Club’s first-team players who, since 2010, under the orders of then manager Pep Guardiola, moved their training facility from the claustrophobic field adjacent to Camp Nou out to the wide open pitches of the Ciutat Esportiva.

Other professional teams train there as well, giving the children of La Masia a close up view of the dreams many of them are shooting for.

The FC Barcelona Legends, a newly formed team of former Blaugrana players, will face a squad of former members from another European giant, Manchester United, on 2 July at Camp Nou. The match will mark the Catalan side's debut in front of their own fans.

The game will be played at 7:00pm CET. Tickets are on sale from today and can be purchased through the Club website: www.fcbarcelona.com. Ticket prices range between 9 and 19 Euros for the general public. Members and supporters clubs will enjoy special discounts: 20% off for members and 15% off for supporters clubs.

BUY TICKETS

The squad list for the FC Barcelona Legends team will be announced in the coming days. José Mari Bakero, who was the captain of the famous Dream Team, has already been confirmed as the team's coach.

Some of the players who will represent Manchester United in the game at Camp Nou have already been announced. Among those taking part are Paul Scholes, Ji-Sung Park, and Karel Poborsky, as well as Teddy Sheringham and Jesper Blomqvist. The latter two players were part of the Manchester United team that beat Bayern Munich, 2–1, to win the 1999 UEFA Champions League final at Camp Nou. The definitive squad list for the Manchester United Legends will be announced in the coming days.

This clash will also have a return leg, set for next year on 4 June 2017, when the Catalan Legends will visit the English side at Old Trafford.

The game at Camp Nou will be the second game played by the FC Barcelona Legends. The team's first match took place on 1 April of this year, in the Mexican city of Querétaro, against a team of former Mexican players. The Barça squad, playing under the orders of José Mari Bakero, brought together names like Stoichkov, Vitor Baía, Edmílson, Popescu, Ronald de Boer, and Mendieta, among others.

The FC Barcelona Legends is the fruit of an FC Barcelona program aiming to highlight the figure of the players who have donned the Blaugrana shirt. The project aims to contribute to the globalisation of the Barça brand and its values, while helping the athletes maximise their income after retirement. This initiative foresees a campaign of several matches, as well as the organisation of parallel events, in different parts of the world.

FC Barcelona announces that has received notice this afternoon of the sanction imposed by the UEFA Disciplinary Committee due to the display of ‘estelada’ flags at the Camp Nou at Champions League matches in the 2015/2016 season.

The fine is for 150,000 euros, although 50,000 euros shall be suspended if the events are not repeated in the next two years.

The Club shall be appealing against this sanction, and shall be taking all legal measures in order for the same to be revoked, for it considers it to be totally unjust and to be opposed to the exercise of the freedom of expression.

It’s been another eventful week at FC Barcelona, with the football team launching its new kit and the announcements of the departures of both Dani Alves and Marc Bartra. Meanwhile, the season is drawing to a close in a number of different sports. Here’s a round-up of the biggest stories of the week

- Monday 30 May. The brand new Barça kit was revealed, with slightly lighter tones than last year’s model and a style that deliberately mimics that of the shirt worn the year the team won its first European Cup in 1992. The new Nike uniform is on sale now.

- Wednesday 1 June. The tenth anniversary of the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training facility, located 5 km from the Camp Nou and opened on 1 June 2006. This is where the academy players live and train, and since 2010 has also been used for first team training sessions.

- Thursday 2 June. Technical secretary Robert Fernández gives a press conference to look back at another hugely successful season, and reveals that not only will Neymar Jr be renewing his contract, but insists that the Brazilian will be staying at FC Barcelona for many more years. 

- Thursday 2 June. At the same conference, Fernández confirms that Dani Alves is leaving the club after eight seasons and 391 competitive appearances. The club officially thanks the Brazilian for all that he has done for FC Barcelona. 

- Thursday 2 June. FC Barcelona Lassa qualify for the final of futsal’s LNFS with a 3-1 defeat of Magna Gurpea in game two of the semi-final series with goals from Ferrao, Aicardo and Wilde.

- Friday 3 June. Former stars of Barça and Man United are to meet in a game at the Camp Nou on July 2. Tickets for the first home appearance of the FC Barcelona Legends are already on sale.

- Friday 3 June. Marc Bartra is leaving Barça for Borussia Dortmund. The Catalan joined Barça when he was just 12 years old, meaning that he’s spent half of his life at the club. Since making his debut with the first team, he’s amassed an enviable collection of medals, including five Ligas and two Champions Leagues.

- Saturday 4 June. Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu goes to Benicàssim to lend his support to the U12 team in the LaLiga Promises tournament. Sadly, Barça crash out of the competition to Espanyol in the round of 16. 

- Sunday 5 June. The women’s football team lose at home to Atlético Madrid and say goodbye to their league title hopes. They’ve won the last four editions of the competition, but this season the trophy is headed to Athletic Bilbao. Hopefully better fortunes await in the Copa de la Reina. 

- Sunday 5 June. The FC Barcelona Lassa basketball team go 2-0 in their semi-final series with Laboral Kutxa Victòria. They now travel to Vitoria, where one win from a potential two games would be enough to clinch a berth in the final.

[[DES_1]]FC Barcelona is giving Barça fans the opportunity to play a game at the Camp Nou. To do it, Barça fans have to create a team with their friends between Tuesday, 7 June and Tuesday, 21 June. The two teams that get the most followers will face off on 7 July at the Stadium with transport and accommodation costs paid for by FC Barcelona.

Teams can be mixed gender and come from anywhere in the world. All players must be of legal age and have created a group of 11 friends. To participate and have the opportunity to play with your own team on Barça's field, simply register by clicking the button at the bottom of the page and following the instructions.

How to get followers?

Sharing and inviting through different social networks will be one of the keys to attracting followers and becoming one of the two winning teams that will take part in this one-of-a-kind experience.

PARTICIPATE NOW! Play at Camp Nou

FC Barcelona announces the release of FCB Ultimate Rush, an exciting new mobile running game that allows anyone to play the immersive running journey in the streets of Barcelona with Barça’s current superstars such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Neymar JR, Gerard Piqué, Andrés Iniesta and the rest of the team.

The game is available for both iOS and Android worldwide in 11 different languages.

Set in the enchanting city of Barcelona, the game story reveals that the city’s famous monuments have been stolen, and only the FC Barcelona superstars can save them. The game features spectacular 3D recreations of real-world locations such as Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter and many more on a quest to collect puzzle pieces and tokens to reconstruct the city.

Each Barça player in the game has it’s own one unique special ability that gives him an edge. Users can improve their players with power ups, which give the players extraordinary skills such as jumping higher, running at supersonic speeds and building immunity to injuries. The game starts by running with one player, but as the game progresses, you will need to get more players on your team in order to advance in levels and unlock new parts of the game.

This new official FC Barcelona digital product has two game modes - ‘Endless', a typical runner set up which tests the players’ physical capabilities and ‘Quest’, the main game mode which allows players’ the chance to complete specific tasks in a demanding test of their gaming skills.

Download APPSTORE

Download GooglePlay

The match between the FC Barcelona Legends and the Manchester United Legends, which was scheduled for 2 July at Camp Nou, has been postponed until a later date. Professional commitments stemming from the Euro 2016 led to scheduling conflicts for some of the players called upon to participate.

As soon as a new date is agreed to, the Club will let it be known through its official channels of communication. A match involving the Legends of both teams is scheduled for 2017 in Manchester.

The FC Barcelona Legends debuted on 1 April 2016 in Queretaro, Mexico, against a team of former Mexican players.

The Board of Directors, who met today at the offices of the club, have been informed of the proposed compliance agreement that has been presented by the Legal Services of the Club in reference to the  case followed by the Barcelona Courts for the signing of Neymar Jr.

The Board plans to discuss the matter then take a decision on the case in the ordinary meeting that was already scheduled for this coming Monday.

Another week has gone by at FC Barcelona and while the domestic season has finished, there is still plenty going on in and around the club.

Neymar Jr was at the NBA finals where he met with some of the game’s top stars in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and compatriot Leandrinho Barbosa. Sergio Busquets spoke to Barça TV, the basketball side made it to the Endesa League final for a tenth year on the trot, while Leo Messi was up to his usual tricks in the Copa America, scoring a quick-fire hat-trick for Argentina against Panama.

Here is the pick of what happened in the past seven days:

Neymar Jr takes in some NBA action

6 June marked a year since the team's fifth Champions League win. What do you remember from the final?

Play a match at Camp Nou. Take part and live the dream.

'Lucho's men' documentary released.

Sergio Busquets discusses his past in a personal interview.

Preseason begins on 19 July

A look back at Messi's free-kicks

Euro 2016 is underway

Barça reach tenth straight Endesa League final

Messi's third fastest hat-trick.

The Board of Directors, which convened for an ordinary session at the Club's offices on Monday, has decided to approve the agreement presented by the Club's Legal Services with regard to the case surrounding the signing of Neymar Jr, currently being heard in the Courts of the Province of Barcelona.

The agreement involves the recognition by the Club of an error in tax planning for the signing of the player, for the fiscal years 2011 and 2013, when they did not not correctly withhold payments resulting from his incorporation. In addition, the Club has been exonerated from responsibility for the fiscal year 2014, which was also part of the proceedings.

The Board considers the approval of this agreement to be a positive step, one that puts an end to a situation of legal uncertainty that could have affected the viability of the Club's sporting and economic plan in the coming years.

Given the importance of this decision, the Board has decided to subject the motion to approval at the next General Assembly of Member Delegates.

Other agreements

In addition, the Board has approved several auxiliary services contracts for the Club for the next two seasons, covering the areas of security, access control, and ball retrieval staff, among others.

The Board also approved a new FCB Escola in Ottawa, Canada, the country's fourth, which will commence operations in October.