The FC Barcelona vice-president has revealed that the club's membership now stands at 153,458 39,477 of those are women, the highest amount in club history Cardoner also revrealed that the budget for the amateur sections will be increased by 10%
Children's Passport goes down well
All child members under eight years of age now have the right to order a Children’s Passport, which permits them free entry to the ground and identifies them as a special group of major relevance to the club. A total of 5,068 applications have been made via the website or using a special mobile app.
Jordi Cardoner has reviewed the 2013/14 season in terms of the Social Area, which deals with the members and fans. Greater participation, accessibility, solidarity, services and proximity are highlighted as the main focus areas.
Cardoner feels all these aspects are of shared importance, but there are three items that he wished to stress above the rest: the Membership Census, the Reformed Statutes and the Referendum on the new-look Camp Nou. The first was designed to gain more insight into the club’s members and its supporters clubs, which will help to adapt procedures to their most pressing needs. He announced that the club membership currently stands at 153,458, although 13,848 of those have not yet returned their census forms, as well as 152,004 supporters club members, meaning the club in total consists of a remarkable 304,025 people.
“One of the most impressive things is that we have 39,477 female members, the highest amount in club history” he revealed.
As for the reform of the club statutes, which was approved by 76% majority at the 2013 Assembly, Cardoner explained that the main purpose behind the modifications were to give the members greater control over the club and more opportunities to participate in important decision-making. This should help to ensure greater financial and social stability for the club in the future. And the third major matter was the Referendum on the new look stadium, a plan that was accepted by more than 72% of the members. This means that the new-look Camp Nou will be much better adapted to the needs of a modern venue, and will also involve the construction of a brand new basketball arena and several other projects.
Investment in amateur sport
[[DES_1]]The Social Area will, from now on, also be dealing with the club’s amateur sports sections. “One of our main objectives is to promote these sections in order for Barça members to have more opportunities to play these sports” explained Cardoner, and he was pleased to announce that the budget for these departments will be increased by 10% this season. The club currently has about 1,000 athletes in the 9 different amateur sections, namely men’s volleyball, women’s volleyball, field hockey, rugby union, athletics, figure skating, ice hockey, women’s basketball and wheelchair basketball.
Cardoner is also delighted that the club website has been awarded the ‘double A’ international accessibility certificate in recognition of how it has been adapted for people with different disabilities. And he also mentioned the success of the T’Acompanyem (‘We’ll take you there’) project organised in conjunction with the Red Cross on match days at the stadium, the improvements and adaptations to the Camp Nou and the 90% satisfaction rate among members with regard to the services offered by the club.
Supporters clubs on the rise
The Penyes S. XXI project is still making good progress, which is seeking to promote the ‘penyes’ (supporters clubs) brand and make it more self-managing. The old system of advisory councils has been dropped in favour of regional federations, and according to Jordi Cardoner, this has led to better communication between them and a greater sense of belonging.
A total of 1,267 official supporters clubs have been accounted for in the census, 619 in the Catalan speaking regions, 560 elsewhere in Spain, and 88 in the rest of the world. These clubs have a combined total of 152,004 members, of whom 15,345 also have FC Barcelona membership cards. Cardoner also announced that a special effort will be put into the ‘Socis fem Penya’ project to encourage its members to also join their local supporters clubs and thus help to increase the bond between these two major groups of Barça followers.
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