Poll result: Elections in June was good decision?

Do you approve the decision to call the elections for 13 June?

Yes 69%
No 31%

total votes: 418
start date poll: 29 january 2010
poll method: internet, free participation
source: el mundo deportivo

check more election poll results here

What will Evarist Murtra do?

After Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola dedicated his team's victory in the World Cup for Clubs to former Barcelona director Evarist Murtra, there has been some speculation in the Catalan press about the role of Murtra in the upcoming elections.

(read the first part of this post that gives background information on the person of evarist murtra here)

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Murtra has been contacted by several pre-candidates asking him to join them. Murtra would have rejected the offers and is quoted as replying to all: "Never again will I be a director of FC Barcelona."

Murtra would want to stay totally independent to have the chance to freely express his opinion about the situation of the club and although he won't actively take part in the campaign, he could publicly say to which candidacy he feels closes when the elections come nearer.

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that there's still a chance that Murtra, who reportedly already rejected an approach by among others the candidacy of Alfons Godall, will join former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano, who would still be trying to convince Murtra to get involved.

The local press meanwhile couldn't agree on the presence of Murtra at a dinner organized earlier this month by Soriano to which he invited all the members of the Barcelona board who left the club together with him after the vote of no confidence in July 2008 (read more here).

Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia claims that Murtra certainly won't take part in the elections, Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu that he seems not willing to particpate and Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo that he plans to stay neutral in the whole process.

this is the second and last part of this post. you can read the first part here.

Read more:
Soriano dines with former board colleagues
The Board Movements (2003-2009)
Soriano to announce candidacy next month

Majorcan Miquel Pou running for president

Speaking at a press conference on the island of Majorca last week, Miquel Pou has announced that he will be a candidate in the elections for president of FC Barcelona that will be held in June. Pou defines himself as 'the people's candidate'.

Being a candidate. "People falsely think that to be the president of Barça, you need to be a property developer or a multimillionaire. I don't believe that because I don't know any president who has put one euro of his own money into the club."

The signatures and the bank guarantee. "It will be complicated. Everything will depend on a good campaign, looking for support and using the new technologies like the internet. Regarding the money, that should come from all those who support this candidacy."

Support and campaign. "I'm very well-knowm among the Barça club members on the isle of Majorca and I've planned to go to Barcelona in April to campaign. In fact, I will travel there as many times as is necessary for people to get to know me."

Sports area. "I don't want to talk about signings because that's not ethical. The sports director will be chosen by the coach to avoid differences between them."

Economic area. "I will count on a team of professionals."

Match time. "I will negotiate with the televisions so that the games of Barcelona are played before 8 pm. If it's later, the people from outside Catalonia are forced to spend the night in Barcelona and that's very expensive."

Alliances. "At this moment, I'm not considering to join another candidacy. I'm only thinking about getting as far as possible. If things don't work out, we can still talk about it later."

Miquel Pou is an employee of the University of the Balearic Islands. The 44-years old Majorcan is vice-president of a Barcelona fan club he co-founced in 2003 and of which he was the president for five years. Pou is also responsible of the social area of Spanish fourth division club Atlètic Balears.

Read more:
Francesc Mane will run for president
Llaurado to announce candidacy at last minute
Molins rejects offer to lead Minguella-Medina project

Benedito: "Barça should transmit values"

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito gave an interview to Spanish web portal Terra.


Are you in favour of keeping UNICEF on the shirt or do you plan to look for a sponsor?
For now, the UNICEF contract has three years left, but the club is entitled to stop putting it on the shirt after each year. In principle we are in favour of maintaining the agreements that have been reached with UNICEF. We see Barça as a demonstration of good citizenship and the club has the potential to transmit values. We want an active presence in the society, establishing networks with social organizations that allow us to transmit our values and what the Barça brand represents. Given that, a collaboration with UNICEF is possible. But we must do a lot more in this aspect.

Godall thinks it's possible to have a budget of 1.000 millions. Have you thought about it? Is it possible?
I think we have to talk about figures in a serious way. If we have revenues of 1.000 and expenses of 1.000... We have to look at his balance sheet and what he plans to do. I think there are a lot of areas in which we can make progress. I'm optimistic. We will improve the exploitation of those resources that are not optimized, like the vip boxes, the use of club assets, the contracts with Nike and with the companies that own the broadcasting rights, as well as move into markets that we didn't yet reach, like Asia and South America. I believe our revenues will grow in the coming years, but I don't want to put it into numbers. But as important as the revenues are the expenses. We must control as much as possible the spending of the club.

Guardiola has spoken highly of Txiki. Will you ask Pep if he wants to continue with him? If that's not the cause but Pep himself asks you for his continuity, what will you do? Keep in mind that Pep always speaks well of him.
With us in charge, he won't continue.

Even if Pep explicitly asks it?
We will talk with Pep and we'll show him our ideas. We look forward to explain him our wishes and our structure so we can finalize it and fill in the names together with him. Through those talks we want to redefine our structure and try to convince him to continue more than one year. We'll find a common ground.

Will this structure have a sports director?
We will continue with the position of sports director. And in all sections, because we believe those are models that have to be to strengthened and that have worked well to date.

Are you in favour of the continuity of the people responsible for each section? It may seem obvious, but to give an example, Rosell wanted to dismiss Frank three months after hving started a project.
Policies of renewals and abrupt changes are not good for the club. As a principle, we will maintain as far as possible the current ideas and projects.

Without mentioning any names, we refer to Cesc. Are you in favour of paying large sums of money for people who left Barca in a non-friendly way?
I think that in the structure we have, the decisions about the transfers should be made by the sports director and the coach and we will support whatever they decide.

But this is a structural decision. Today it's Cesc and tomorrow it can be Thiago.
We insist that these are sports decisions by the coach and the sports director. About Cesc, I can only say that there is a consensus that he's a player with a Barça profile. The price seems to be an important element. Piqué costed 6 millions and he came without any problem. If the price for Cesc is 10 or 15, I'm sure we all agree, even if there would be a policy of not bringing back former youth players. What is the limit? I think these are football decisions and I think we should rely on the sports director.

The squad is almost entirely renewed. Do you agree with that?
There are some decisions that have been influenced by the elections. If they think something may benefit them in the future, they are doing it. I'm reluctant to talk about football - I'll do it when I'm president - I can say in general that in the last weeks of a term, it's perhaps not appropriate to make some of the decisions that are being made and that could also be made in three months time. I think that Piqué would have signed anyway, being it now or in four months.

this was the second part of this interview. you can read the first part here and the third part here.

Read more:
Benedito: "The media already have their favourites"
Board of Benedito will have 15 directors
Benedito putting emphasis on financial transparency

The Quote: Jaume Ferrer

"We all know Xavier Sala, both here and in America, and we know he talks too much which makes that many times he's hard to believe."


Jaume Ferrer,
Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate

read more election quotes here

Candidates react to Champions League draw

The candidates who will take part in the elections for president of FC Barcelona have earlier today reacted to the Champions League draw through messages on social networking site Facebook and/or microblogging site Twitter.

Agustí Benedito
The road to the Bernabeu passes by London and maybe Milan. It's not an easy path but we can do it. Let's go!

Jaume Guixà
First, Cesc's Arsenal and then Eto'o's Inter or CSKA... They will be exciting games! Come on Barça, straight to the Bernabéu!

Sandro Rosell
Arsenal... In quarters there is no easy opponent! Let's go!

Alfons Godall
Good draw!!! Arsenal plays and allows to play, the order of the games is that what we wanted and in semis, if we get there, we will have two games against Inter... In any case, as we have been saying, modesty and hard work!!!

Jaume Ferrer
It's a tie that guarantees a great spectacle. Two teams that like to play good football will face each other and as always we must approach it with all the respect and modesty, because Arsenal is an old acquaintance and it will not be easy.

Read more:
Cesc gives his ok to presidential candidates
The Quote: Samuel Eto'o
Rooney could become electoral transfer target

Former president Reyna so far not involved

Asked if he will get involved in the presidential elections at Barcelona that will be held in June, former Barcelona president Enric Reyna has said in an interview with Catalan radio station COM Ràdio that this is not the case for now:

"At this moment, I don't have plans to get involved, but in the world of football anything can happen. I have been contacted by candidates, that's true, there have been phone calls. But so far I have clearly said no to everyone."

Catalan businessman Enric Reyna was the Barcelona president between February and May 2003. The 69-year old property developer joined the Barcelona board of directors after the 2000 elections. In Decemeber 2002, he was promoted to vice-president and when president Joan Gaspart resigned a few months later, Reyna became the 37th president of FC Barcelona.

Read more:
Former director Castells considering election role
Role Masfurroll in Rosell candidacy unclear
Llaurado close to renouncing his candidacy

Rosell will have board of 17 or 18 directors

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell will on Saturday 10 April present his candidacy and his board team (read more here).

If he would be elected as president, Rosell would have a board of 17 or 18 directors, with 21 being the maximum number of members a board can have.

Although not all the names of the people that will be part of his board would already have been mentioned in the press (read more here), the list of directors would be almost finalized.

During the presentation, the profile of Rosell and his team of collaborators would be explained. Rosell would then launch his real campaign with the presentation of his program at the beginning of May, one or two days after the official calling of the elections.

Read more:
The three areas and vice-presidents of Rosell
Rosell changes announcement strategy
Rosell adding eco businessman to board team

The Catalan Cave: Sergi Mas (Com Radio)

in this section, we ask catalan and spanish sports journalists five questions about the elections for president of fc barcelona. today: sergi mas from catalan radio station com ràdio.


1. Many people see Ferran Soriano as the main rival of the favourite, Sandro Rosell. Where does the fame of Soriano come from?
I don't know where the fame is coming from. But let me ask. Which fame? It might come from his phlegm and his correct behaviour, from not saying one bad word. I don't know. I don't know him either. I have no idea if he could be a great president or a great average one. I don't know. We don't know each other. I know little about him.

2. You have already interviewed the most important pre-candidates. As far as their personality is concerned, who did you like most?
I interviewed all but Soriano - if he runs - and Rosell, who hasn't done interviews. The best one is Benedito. Guixà has the best image, the most calculating one is Ferrer. Godall, although he swore it, won't be a candidate. But they all have a bad strategy. They're not going to the media. We only know them by phone or by interviews. You have to go to and meet the media, rather than the fan clubs, to allow the people to know you. Before you go to the fan club and the members, you must first pass through the media. But that's their problem and that of their advisers.

3. Production company El Terrat, for which you have worked, will be in charge of the communication of the campaign of Sandro Rosell. It that a wise decision?
Wise decision? We shall see in due course. I don't know. I will have an opinion when I see what they do. Rosell and his team are old enough to know if they're right.

4. You are a well-known Espanyol fan. How are the elections seen from the Espanyol antourage? People aren't interested in it or they have a preference in favour or against a candidate?
As an Espanyol club member, it doesn't interest me. As a journalist, I feel passionate about it. It would be better if the next one would be a president who brings people together and not a warrior.

5. Your program is very popular in Catalonia. When preparing or presenting your program, are you aware of the fact that you can influence the opinion and perhaps the vote of the club members?
You always know that what you say or express will go beyond the 4, 400, 4.000 or 40.000 listeners you have. Because besides the listener, you also have other media that spread the following day what you have been broadcasting. And people know that. You keep in mind that you can have an influence, but I'm not saying things to influence but so that the listener - whatever team he's a fan of - has more information about the fellow he's going to vote for.

THE EXTRAS If you were a club member of Barça, who would you vote for or certainly not vote for?
If I was a member of Barça... With that kind of approach it's not possible for me to answer this.

All your possessions are at stake. Give the top-3 of the elections on 13 June.
I'm not putting in play my personal estate nor my pen. I just give my opinion. Rosell first, Soriano second, Benedito third.

Thank you for this interview and your time. Good luck in covering the rest of the season and the elections.

read the previous episodes of this series:
francisco ávila (efe) - miquel pellicer (el mundo deportivo) - edu polo (ona fm) - abraham clotet (sport) - victor lozano (onda cero) - sergi de juan (el 9 esportiu) - cristian pulina (eurosport) - joan domènech(el periódico)

Cartoon 28: Joan Laporta

(click the cartoon to enlarge)


by vizcarra

source:
avui

see more cartoons here

The Quote: Ferran Soriano

"We will ask and seek the votes, one by one."


Ferran Soriano,
former Barcelona economic vice-president

read more election quotes here

Rosell planning to reform club statutes

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell wants to reform the statutes of the club. The person in charge of the big reform would be Joan Manuel Trayter [picture], a professor of law at the university of Girona.

Trayter, a former vice-president of the Catalan sports tribunal and the son of the president of the management commission that was in charge of the club during the 2003 elections, has over the past years been critical about the functioning of the current board.

In an interview with Catalan sports weekly paper Gol, he suggested last month among other things that the role of the board at the end of a term should be changed to guarantee the neutrality of the election process and that there should be more involvement of the club member, transparency and control:

"The statutory organs that should control the activities of the board have been ignored and their members have moved from those organs to the board, neglecting that way their institutional role. The clearest example is that of mister Sala i Martín, the former president of the economic commission, that should control the club's finances, who is now a member of the board of directors."

Read more:
Council linked with Rosell working on ethical code
Torres confirms good relationship with Rosell
Rosell changes announcement strategy

Polls could lead to electoral pacts

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that the electoral enquiries that are being carried out these days could lead to strategic agreements between presidential candidates ahead of the elections of 13 June.

The polls of the current three main candidacies - those of Sandro Rosell, Alfons Godall and Jaume Ferrer - would all have the same conclusions: that Rosell would currently be in the lead and that a very high percentage of the club members still don't know who to vote for.

Although current Barcelona vice-presidents Alfons Godall and Jaume Ferrer would not be able to win the elections on their own, things could change, according to the polls, in case there would be a pact with another candidate.

When for example asked about a possible joint candidacy with former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano, the chances of one pre-candidate to win the elections reportedly improved with 15%.

It is expected that the candidacies of Godall and Ferrer will wait until Rosell and Soriano have officially presented their candidate next month and see which effect this will have on the voting intentions. As the elections come closer, there could then be alliances between candidates.

Read more:
Godall candidacy has positive polls
Soriano to announce candidacy next month
Ferrer: "My project is totally innovative"

Ferrer: "We should study shirt sponsorship"

Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer have an interview to Spanish business paper Cinco Días.


What have been the keys for Barça to double the revenues over the past five years?
Football is an industry that in recent years has grown tremendously, it has been globalized and has turned teams and players into icons. This has led to the appearance of new ways of income in all areas thanks to the bigger audience: stadiums, marketing and media rights. The market of the first five European leagues is worth around 8.000 million euros. In 2003, when the current board of directors took office, FC Barcelona had a turnover of 125 million euros and had operating losses of around 80 millions. This season we will surely have more than 400 million in revenues - equally divided over the three business areas - and a profit of 20 or 25 millions. The accumulated benefits of the last seven years will be over 100 millions.

What is your economic project for the club?
I think that in recent years a good job has been done and that the model to position Barça in the world as 'more than a club' should continue. A model based on spectacular football, on values like civility and solidarity. And we should remain a multi-sports club: we have 13 sections besides football, more than 90 teams, 2.000 people counting players and coaches. We will also continue with the internationalization, with North America, Asia and Africa as key markets. And we want to continue to increase the revenues in all areas, because there still are possibilities. At present, Barça has more than 200 million fans worldwide. And that leads to more audience, more revenues from television rights and more chances to find global sponsors. As a novelty, I want to promote a new source of income: the generation of content for mobile phones and internet. New technologies are developing very fast and it’s a major source of income that is still untapped in the world of football.

But what are your specific economic objectives?
We will give further details about our program when the elections are officially called. But we foresee a budget of between 800 and 1.000 million euros in the next six years. That means doubling the current figure, or a little more than that, depending on how the crisis evolves.

Apart from generating cash, the project will be viable?
Yes, the club has been profitable in the past six years. To keep on having profits is crucial for our sustainability as a big club. And that means spending a little less than what comes in.

Have you considered to have a shirt sponsor?
The agreements with the organizations of the United Nations are crucial. We want to continue with them. But it is not required to have Unicef on the shirt. In the short-term I think it is, but we will study formulas to see if there are opportunities to promote this in another way and that we then can advertise something on the shirt, which could bring in 20 millions.

What about the reform of the Camp Nou?
We want a project that meets our objectives. On the one hand, more comfort for the club member: we will cover the stadium so that nobody gets wet, we will make it more accessible to the elder and the disabled people. On the other hand, higher revenues: we want to have a larger restaurant area and more VIP boxes for companies. In addition, we will restructure the surroundings, where we could build a hotel and a new Palau.

Read more:
Ferrer: "The homegrown players are the basis"
Ferrer has biggest media impact
Director Torrent will be right-hand man Ferrer

interview: javier l. noriega

Poll result: Should Laporta stay neutral?

Do you think that Laporta should stay neutral in the elections at Barça?

Yes 79%
No 21%

total votes: 4005
start date poll: 19 february 2010
poll method: internet, free participation
source: sport

The Pundit: Alex Santos on the club member

« The club member of Barça is rather conservative, and if things are done fairly well and there is a sense of peace and stability, the bag of gained votes lasts for a while. »

Alex Santos,
El 9 Esportiu

check more pundit talk

Rosell changes announcement strategy

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell will officially announce that he will run for president of FC Barcelona in the upcoming elections between Saturday 10 and Thursday 15 April.

Rosell had said before that he wouldn't make any announcement before the elections were officially called and the date initially chosen would have been Thursday 6 May (read more here) but the campaign team of Rosell would now have decided to bring the presentation forward because of the growing pressure of the club members and the media.

During the April announcement, Rosell would explain the main lines of his program, keeping the details for the first week of May. The day of the initial presentation, Rosell would nevertheless already give the names of the 20 people who will form his board team if he's elected as president.

Read more:
The three areas and vice-presidents of Rosell
Rosell could present project year after goal Iniesta
The Slogan: Sandro Rosell

Benedito: "Stadium shouldn't be visible from the moon"

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito gave an interview to Spanish web portal Terra.


Can you introduce yourself to the club members, many of which still know little about you? Who are you?
From a Barcelona point of view, I'm involved with the club since 1996, when I met Jan Laporta and a large group of Catalans with a different background and different ideas but united by our concern for the club. From this group that didn't have electoral intentions, three people in the end got involved in the candidacy of Angel Fernández in 1997. Laporta, Perrín and I. This was our first electoral experience. A few months later, the three of us, plus another group of Barcelona fans organized the vote of no confidence against Núñez under the name 'Elefant Blau'. This was my second electoral experience. Finally in 2003, I was actively involved in the campaign that led to the presidency of Laporta. Since then, I have been linked with the club, having official responsibilities in the social and sports commissions until I quit a year ago. In summary, it has been 13 years, 7 before the mandate of Laporta, and 6 inside the club.

Why did you quit?
Although from the start some events made me see that the presidency of Laporta might not go as we had imagined, with a number of concrete episodes - some are public and others haven't been disclosed – in which I have been opposed to the decisions of Laporta, but since I am a committed person and it is very difficult to make me leave the ship, I stayed until February 2009. That's when I read a story in the press in which was explained that Laporta tried to mediate in the sale of Mallorca to a group that is domiciled in Switzerland but that is financed with Uzbek money, and that Laporta or his law firm would have got a fee of 4 million euros. I wait until I get the confirmation of the news, which happens at a press conference, and the day after I hand in my resignation. The president of the club cannot do business with a client of the club and get involved in an operation and obtain personal benefits from it. I am not prepared to allow that to happen.

Focusing on your project. What are the three basic ideas?
I feel a part of the original project of Laporta, that of 2003 in which I contributed. I believe in that project and when updated, it is still perfectly valid. And I think many members will agree with this assertion. There are several basic points of the first era of Laporta that have been forgotten. Ideas like transparency, participation of the members in the organs of the club, honesty in the behaviour of the directors and the assets policy of not selling properties.

By the latter, I understand that you disagree with the reclassification of the Miniestadi and the Foster plan.
We are against the sale of assets as a financial management tool, because we would only consider the sale of assets in circumstances of extreme necessity, which is not the case now. On the one hand, when a club is selling properties and reducing the fixed assets, you reduce the solvency ratio and that is the ultimate guarantee for the future stability of the club. When we sell, we impoverish the club and that will limit the operations in future years. It is about economic strategy. Then there is the issue of the practical use of assets. What happens is that some uses are not well defined. I think the football market is changing and that having undeveloped plots close to the Camp Nou allows us to have the ability and willingness to offer many services, that we will need to offer in the future to encourage the attendance at the stadium.

Looking at the future, when you have a city without big spaces to build like Barcelona, did you consider the possibility of removing the Camp Nou outside the city given that it could become unusable because of its current state?
Those are two different things. The Camp Nou is 53 years old and the remodelling is necessary and urgent. We will reform it, but leaving aside the Foster project. We will improve access, comfort, services, the use of new technologies. But this does not mean that the stadium has to be visible from the moon and has to economically condition us in the coming years. According to our studies, the reform of the Camp Nou and the new Palau will cost us more than 100 or 150 millions. And we will do this without selling assets.

Where will the new Palau be located?
Let me say that I hope we can stop the process of reclassification of the Miniestadi site, because that is one of the places where we plan to build it.

this was the first part of this interview. you can read the second part here and the third part here.

Read more:
Benedito: "The media already have their favourites"
Board of Benedito will have 15 directors
Benedito putting emphasis on financial transparency

Soriano to announce candidacy next month

Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia claims that former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano will soon officially announce at a press conference that he will be a candidate in the elections for president of FC Barcelona in June of this year (read more here).

Soriano would have started to inform the main shareholders of Spanish airline Spanair, of which he is the chairman, and several important people of the Catalan society and politics about his decision. The public announcement would be planned after the holy week, the week before Easter, that is celebrated on Sunday 4 April.

Former Barcelona marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla would become the right-hand man of Soriano, who is reportedly open for agreements with other candidates such as current Barcelona vice-president Alfons Godall and Jaume Ferrer under the condition that he will keep on leading the final candidacy.

Soriano would continue to count on Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola and Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain, although the latter would get another role at the club. Former Barcelona goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta could replace Begiristain as sports director (read more here).

Read more:
Soriano preparing candidacy
Begiristain proposes Zubizarreta as his successor
Soriano carrying out election poll

Weekly Round-Up (15): A Third Way

Every week an overview of the posts from this blog, written by Xaviniesta, is published on Barcelona news site totalBarca.


Former Barcelona sports vice-president and presidential candidate Sandro Rosell reportedly wants to continue collaboration with UNICEF, a charitable initiative started by the board of Joan Laporta that allows Barcelona players to sport the UNICEF logo on their shirts.

Rosell, who has not revealed any detail of his project but claims he will present it in May, has also reportedly closed a deal with Catalan tv host Andreu Buenafuente’s production outfit El Terrat to handle communications for his campaign.

>>> read the complete weekly round-up here

Director Colomer to be treasurer of Ferrer

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona director Josep Anton Colomer [picture, in the centre] will become the club's treasurer if Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer would be elected as the new Barcelona president in the elections on 13 June of this year.

Josep Anton Colomer is a Catalan businessman who spent most of his professional career at the Spanish banking group BBVA and who has been part of the Barcelona board of directors for less than two years.

In July 2008, after eight directors left the club as a consecuence of the vote of no confidence against Barcelona president Joan Laporta, Colomer was appointed as a member of the board (read more here). He is currently a director of the economic area and responsible for the futsal section.

Read more:
Ferrer has biggest media impact
The Board Movements (2003-2009)
Director Torrent will be right-hand man Ferrer

Rosell most popular candidate on Facebook

Three months before the elections for president of FC Barcelona, former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell is the most popular presidential candidate on social networking site Facebook, both regarding his personal profile page, as regarding his support page.

Personal pages
Sandro Rosell: 5.001
Agustí Benedito: 3.551
Jaume Guixà: 2.632
Alfons Godall: 1.899
Jaume Ferrer: 1.132

Fan or group pages
Sandro Rosell: 6.981
Alfons Godall: 6.841
Agustí Benedito: 1.805
Jaume Guixà: 481
Jaume Ferrer: 301

Read more:
Rexach has Facebook support he asked for
Marketing expert: "It will be an Obama-type campaign"
Live Coverage: Twitter chat session Sandro Rosell

What is the role of a vice-president?

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the statutes of FC Barcelona says that the club should have between one and five vice-presidents: "The positions that make up the Board will be, at least and necessarily, those of [...] Vice president [...] and optionally, and by decision of the Board itself, up to four other Vice Presidents [...]."

Article 30.2 of the statute defines the functions of a Barcelona vice-president:

"a) To exercise, in representation of the President, that person's duties when delegated by the same.

b) To temporarily substitute the President in cases of absence, temporary incapacitation or suspension of his or her presidency.

c) To substitute the President when that person ceases to exercise that position during his or her presidency.

If there is more than one Vice president, the substitute will be the one of highest category, if they have been named in an order, or the longest-serving member if they are all of the same category, except for temporary substitutions as detailed in section b) owing to the absence or temporary incapacitation of the President, in which case the President will directly designate the Vice president that will substitute him or her.

d) All others that are stipulated by these Statutes."

The vice-president is not mentioned further in the statutes apart from the reference in article 34, paragraph 2, saying that at least one vice-president should take part in the meetings of the club's Delegate Commission (read more here).

Read more:
Which directors will stay on until June?
Godall and Ferrer no longer part of 'core board'
How much will the elections cost?

The Slogan: Sandro Rosell

"We're all Barça"


'Tots som Barça' would become the main campaign slogan that will be used by Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell ahead of the elections in June

read more election quotes here

The Quote: Jaume Ferrer

"At first, the president wanted Sala i Martín. Godall is the second option."


Jaume Ferrer,
Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate

read more election quotes here

Benedito open to meet with regular fans

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito, who will take part in the elections that will be held on 13 June, has announced in a press release that he would be glad to personally meet with Barcelona fans.

People who are interested in getting to know Benedito face-to-face can do that every day from Monday to Thursday at 7 pm at the campaign headquarters in the historic centre of Barcelona (read more here).

Read more:
Benedito: "The media already have their favourites"
Eighty percent of the voters still undecided
Benedito to open campaign headquarters

Poll Voting Intentions: Three Months Before

This is the final result of this blog's Who would you vote for in the elections for president of FC Barcelona poll?

Sandro Rosell 40%
Alfons Godall 22%
Jaume Ferrer 15%
Agusti Benedito 5%
Jaume Guixa 1%

Someone else 9%
Don't know 8%

compare with last monts' results here

check more voting intention poll results

The Catalan Cave: Joan Domenech (El Periodico)

in this section, we ask catalan and spanish sports journalists five questions about the elections for president of fc barcelona. today: joan domènech from catalan newspaper el periódico.


1. What is the biggest obstacle for a pact between Ferran Soriano and Alfons Godall?
I think there is none and if they don't reach an agreement, I would think it's a matter of strategy. It would be to the advantage of both. I think that Soriano wouldn't have a chance to win the elections on his own and if he teams up with Godall they would mutually reinforce each other.

2. Why is Sandro Rosell at this moment the big favourite?
Because ha has been able to prepare his candidacy for the last five years. Because he has known the club from within and because he has observed from outside what has been done well and what has been done badly. Because he has knowledge of the football industry, because he's a smart guy and, I suppose, has surrounded himself with smart people. And also because he can still count on the charisma and the prestige he gained when he was vice-president.

3. Jaume Ferrer is closer to Godall-Soriano or to Rosell?
He should be closer to Godall but some people from that candidacy alienate him. He wants to be the alternative to the two and he will distance himself from both.

4. Xavier Sala i Martín is an asset or a liability for Alfons Godall?
I am unaware about the image Sala i Martín in general has among the social mass of Barça. I do know the image he has in a more limited circle, which is that of the journalists, and that is not very good. I suppose he will be an asset for Godall because of his economic knowledge and because he could serve as "the bad guy" in the debates; he could be a liability if he puts too much emphasis on that bad guy image and overuses the haughty tone that he sometimes displays when he talks.

5. Is it possible that certain media or individual journalists will openly support a candidate?
Journalists may have their sympathies, but media will show a preference based on the sympathies their bosses have towards a candidate, not on that of the journalists on the field. Possibly some media will openly choose. It has happened before.

THE EXTRAS If you were a club member of Barça, who would you vote for or certainly not vote for?
With four months to go before the elections, I'm not choosing any of them. They all have something I like and something I don't like. If I would be a member, things would not be clear either. I would care a lot about maintaining the current sports model.

All your possessions are at stake. Give the top-3 of the elections on 13 June.
I would put a very small part on Rosell-Godall-Ferrer.

Thank you for this interview and your time. Good luck in covering the rest of the season and the elections.

read the previous episodes of this series:
francisco ávila (efe) - miquel pellicer (el mundo deportivo) - edu polo (ona fm) - abraham clotet (sport) - victor lozano (onda cero) - sergi de juan (el 9 esportiu) - cristian pulina (eurosport)

Rosell adding eco businessman to board team

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Catalan businessman Silvio Elías [picture] will be part of the board team of the candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell ahead of the elections later this year.

If Rosell would be elected as president, Elías would become part of the sports area, that will most probably be led by former Barcelona director Josep Maria Bartomeu, who left the club together with Rosell in June 2005, as sports vice-president (read more here).

Silvio Elías, whose family sold their part in Catalan supermarket company Caprabo a few years ago, is currently the chief executive of Catalan ecological supermarket company Veritas. Elías is reportedly also linked with Duet Sports, a company that manages sports facilities.

Read more:
Former player Belletti gives support to Rosell
The three areas and vice-presidents of Rosell
Rosell signs well-known late night show host

The Quote: Joan Laporta

"I won't leave Barça without having presented Cesc."


Joan Laporta,
Barcelona president

read more election quotes here

Godall candidacy has positive polls

Asked about the polls indicating that Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell is currently the favourite ahead of the elections (check some poll results here), Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín has said in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio that the candidacy of Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall has other poll results:

"All there is now are estimations. The elections haven't yet been called, you don't know who the candidates will be. We'll see what happens when the elections will come closer. There are surveys that say that Sandro is in the lead. I have polls that say it's not like that, that there are others who are in the lead.

And there are indeed also polls that say that the people who want to continue with this project are in the lead and could win the elections. And the reason is simple: the people aren't stupid and in the end they see that things are going well and that this is not the time for changes and experiments. We will see what will happen."

Read more:
Soriano carrying out election poll
Poll Rosell confirms his big lead
Guixa carrying out own election poll

Most read of the week

these were the three most read blog posts of the past week:


1.
Benedito: "I feel heir to the 2003 project"

2.
Could Sala i Martin still be a candidate?

3.
Rosell wants to continue collaboration with Unicef

Director Torrent will be right-hand man Ferrer

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona director Jordi Torrent will be the right-hand man of Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer during the campaign ahead of the elections for president of FC Barcelona.

If Ferrer would be elected as the new Barcelona president in the elections on 13 June of this year, Torrent, who has been part of the Barcelona entourage for several decades, would become the club's first vice-president when the new board takes office.

Jordi Torrent is a Catalan businessman, currently acting as chief executive officer of the Spanish branch of Italian lighting company Disano, that has its headquartes in Roda de Barà, a city in the Catalan province of Tarragona, south of Barcelona.

In the 1978 elections, Torrent was already involved in the pre-candidacy of Josep Pla. In 1997, Torrent was part of the candidacy of Angel Fernández and was later that year one of the founding members of opposition group 'Elefant Blau' that organized a vote of no confidence against then Barcelona president Josep Lluís Núñez.

In July 2008, after eight directors left the club as a consecuence of the vote of no confidence against Barcelona president Joan Laporta, Torrent was appointed as a member of the Barcelona board (read more here). He is currently a director of the marketing and media area and responsible for the roller hockey section.

Read more:
Ferrer has biggest media impact
The Board Movements (2003-2009)
Former candidate Angel Fernandez will not run

Board of Benedito will have 15 directors

Asked about his board team for the upcoming elections, Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito has said in an interview with Catalan local television channel TV Sant Cugat that his board of directors will have fifteen members:

"The statutes say that there should be between fourteen and twenty-one directors. We will present a list of fifteen people. The names will come out as time goes by, following a calendar. We plan to present them one by one.

But I could say that the majority fits the profile of a businessman, medium enterprise, Catalan, possibly second or third generation, and people very involved in the society. I think that defines pretty well most of those who will surround me. I hope you can understand that I cannot give any concrete names, but that will happen soon."

Read more:
The three areas and vice-presidents of Rosell
Benedito putting emphasis on financial transparency
The five vice-presidents of Godall