BLAUGRANES THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE FC BARCELONA SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS WORLD CONFEDERATION NO.11 – FEBRUARY 2020
THE FUTURE IS FEMALE INTERVIEW WITH MARIONA CALDENTEY • WOMEN’S SPORT IN PENYES • NEW BARCELONÈS EST HEADQUARTERS • WELCOME PROJECT FOR REFUGEES • ACTIVITIES • MEET THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS • LATEST NEWS
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Editorial Antoni Guil acknowledges the important role of penyes in promoting a greater presence of women in sports
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Refugees Reception Project We introduce the cooperation between the World Confederation of Supporters’ Clubs and the Red Cross in Catalonia
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Activities An overview of the different activities that took place throughout the territory over the last few months
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Meet the supporters’ clubs
Mariona Caldentey
We reveal the insights of PB Palau d’Anglesola, GPB Águilas and PB Washington DC
The FC Barcelona striker tells us about her experience and the current situation of women’s football
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Female pride
New headquarters at Barcelonès Est We open the gates of the new venue at Barcelona, a future model for the whole penyes movement
We bring together some girls from our penyes with the women’s first team to explain the present and future of women’s sport in the penyes
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News in Brief All the latest news about supporters’ clubs events
EDITION FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation PRESIDENT Antoni Guil i Román MANAGER Joan Camps i Reig EDITING FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Communication and Marketing Departments of FC Barcelona COLLABORATORS FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Federations, Pere Escobar COVER PHOTOGRAPH Germán Parga PHOTOGRAPHY Germán Parga – FCB, Marc Guillén, Manel Gimeno, Sara Gordon, Mark Roth, Lluís F. Salas LAYOUT DESIGN Bufa Tramuntana Comunicació PRINTING TO+ Creacions Gràfiques LEGAL DIPOSIT B 25197-2017
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E D I T O R I A L
The Future is Female According to one of the main slogans from the feminist movement around the world, the “Future is Female”. This slogan was used during the Women’s March staged prior to the inauguration of the current president of the United States, in Washington DC in 2017. This organisation envisions a world in which true equality and a healthy environment are possible. The future is female reflects the ambition of women to defend a sentiment based on equal rights. And it is in this context that we must encourage and empower women in all areas of society. In the mid-20th century, women’s participation in the world of sport was limited to just a few individuals. In many cases, women who wanted to play football or any other sport were looked upon as oddities. Equally as insignificant was the presence of women in the stands at stadiums or arenas. You would have been hard pressed to find female fans cheering on the teams, and the same goes for the presence of women in our supporters’ clubs. This situation has changed over time, thanks to the efforts of
numerous women who have poured their hearts and lives into making a difference. The new generations demand a place in a world which strives to be and must be more egalitarian and inclusive. And our guild cannot remain on the sidelines. In these pages you will find examples of how female sport is gaining traction within the supporters’ clubs movement. These stories must inspire us to incorporate these activities into our organisations’ habitual line-up of events and encourage us to support the women’s teams in our towns and cities, helping them to grow and gain visibility. 27% of all supporters’ club members who took the census are women. All of us must undertake to increase not only this number but also awareness and a female perspective among supporters’ clubs. The future is female if we all work together to make it a reality. “Join us!”.
Antoni Guil
President of the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation
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I N T E R V I E W
Mariona Caldentey FC BARCELONA STRIKER
The Mallorcan is a FC Barcelona female player since season 2014/15. She affirms that reaching the top is not the hardest part, but rather staying there. She has been a “culé” her entire life and has been a member of the Penya Barcelonista Els Tamarells since her early days, one of the largest supporters’ clubs in the whole movement with almost 1,500 members. The relationship between the striker and the penya from Felanitx is so close that the entity headed the initiative for renaming the local football ground, for which they gathered over 2,500 signatures. Currently, all games take place at the “Camp de Futbol Es Torrentó Mariona Caldentey Oliver”.
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“Turn everything upside down. Question all axioms. Change the rules” Mariona Caldentey This text appears on Mariona Caldentey’s Instagram account. Her social media of choice, on which she has over fifty-six thousand female and male followers and posts tonnes of photographs from her matches with FC Barcelona. Yet despite being just a phrase, it paints perhaps the best picture of this slight, stubborn and cheerful –as she herself admits– player who is part of the backbone of the team and its way of understanding football; today, one of the finest examples of pure Barça DNA. We always want control of the ball. We attack and defend with the ball. It’s our way of understanding football, our language. When Lluis Cortés joined the team, he made it clear; playing this style of football wasn’t an option. It was an obligation. And, the truth is, we have a lot of fun, even though it’s much more difficult than people think. It’s highly complex, and not everyone catches on straight away. Some great players, both female and male, need time to get used to it. But when it clicks, it’s much more fun, and if, like me, you’re also lucky enough to play alongside players born with this DNA, like Alexia and Aitana, everything’s much simpler.
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This year she turns twenty-four. A Spain international, she is a mainstay up front despite the arrival of new international signings. She wears number nine and is five foot five, which reminds me that football also belongs to those short in stature, as with the Barça team of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. The players I looked up to. It’s not very original, I know, but I just missed out on having female role models. Maybe that’ll change too. Messi’s my idol, as he is for so many people. But I loved watching Iniesta and Xavi. They made everything look so easy. She has never exchanged words with Messi, despite sharing the same club and, at times, the same events and photographs. Although she speaks about it quite shyly, this is not the
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quality, or defect, that has got her to where she is. In fact, for many girls, getting started in this sport is no easy matter. That wasn’t true in my case. I’m pretty lucky. When I was four, I knew I wanted to play football, that I wanted to be a footballer. I grew up playing in the street with my brother and cousin. My dad was my coach, and, at first, as happens to all of us, I was a girl on the boy’s team. The only girl. But I fit right it and was happy. We also formed a really tight-knit group. We won league titles and even brought home a Spanish championship. However, at away matches, I’d have to change first, while the boys waited outside. I was the only girl, but I was just another member of the team. And that made it easier. Until she was fourteen, that is, the age
at which boys and girls no longer play together. So Mariona signed for UD Collerense in Palma de Mallorca. It’s a great club. It used to be in the first division and has an impressive youth system in all categories. That’s where I grew, played and learned. Where I saw that playing first-division football could be possible... And Barça signed me from Collerense. They had been scouting me for a while. I found out from Virginia, a fellow Majorcan who played there. Also, Xavi Llorens, the coach at the time, and who was the person who signed me, told me they were interested. However I needed to be patient, gain experience, grow as a footballer. And the day finally came. It all seems so simple, but I’m sure reaching the elite is no easy task...
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Perhaps more than you might think. Even I’m shocked. The tricky part isn’t getting there, it’s staying there. And I did it. I’m thrilled. I play for my favourite club and I feel important. I’m extremely happy here. And, truth is, I’ve managed to keep a level head. I’m crazy about football.
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The FC Barcelona women’s team attracts the biggest crowds to the Johan Cruyff Stadium. They are even starting to draw club members to Sant Joan Despí. They are synonymous with fun, goals, good football and an imperious command over the Iberdrola League, which translates into joy, recognition... and pressure for the team.
Now you’ll tell me you’re a life-long Barça supporter... Of course. We all are at home. We’re big Barça fans. My dad was a board member for the Es Tamarells FC Barcelona Supporters’ Club, one of the largest on the island. They do lots of activities, they’re really active, and they recently opened their new headquarters. And I’ve been a member since I was little. I used to go and see the players or former players who’d come, and I’d be spellbound. A year ago they named me honorary member.
Yes. We can’t lose. And we’re not. But despite the differences and scores, it’s no walk in the park. We’re still a long way from men’s football. We’re growing, and everything’s moving very fast. You can’t compare one thing to the other. But there’s still pressure. With Barça, you always have to win. No matter where or who your rival is. Despite being young, she has already earned her qualification as a physical education teacher.
And now I bet you’re the guest of honour... Yes, I am. And it’s fantastic. Like when former players would come to the supporters’ club in Felanitx. You see that your presence makes people happy, that it brings a smile to the children’s faces. And you remember when you were like them. It’s one of the best things in life. To see so many people, so many children at the stadium, happy... we’re privileged... It’s a recognition of a job well done, and that’s priceless.
It’s my calling, and it’s what I want to do when I stop playing football. In Majorca, of course... Exactly. When I finish, I want to go home. There aren’t many places like Majorca. Besides, Felanitx now has a women’s team, and that’s really cool.
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In love with her island, Sa Roqueta, as the Majorcans call it, Mariona Caldentey spends time away with her club and national team playing table tennis –if there’s a table–, reading –she likes Harry Potter– and playing Uno. That is if there’s no piano nearby... I can’t help myself. When I see one, I’m drawn to it and start playing. I’m not great. My grandmother taught me when I would go to her house every day for lunch. I really enjoy it. Playing, and what it means. In Felanitx, she’s a star. If you look up the town’s famous sons and daughters in Wikipedia, a town with less than nine thousand inhabitants, you find a slew of renowned names such as Guillermo Timoner, six-time world motor-paced cycling champion, the painter and sculptor Miquel Barceló and Antoni Peña, a marathon runner and Olympian in Athens 2004. And Mariona, international goal scorer and author of the best goal in the under-20 World Cup in which she took part. When in her native land, she lives in Porto Colom, with her family. A small town with just over four thousand inhabitants; a town so peaceful and quiet that it confirms what they say about Majorcans.
Penyes’ and women:
together, progress is possible To ensure that women occupy all spheres of society, as equals, working arm in arm with men for everyone’s benefit, we only need one thing: an opportunity. And that is precisely what FC Barcelona did in 2015 when, under the guidance of two men, President Bartomeu and Vice-President Mestre, it professionalised women’s football. We are now reaping the rewards of this endeavour: the first team sits in first place, unstoppable, and the female footballers have given girls, like the ones on the cover, role models around which to build a future full of possibilities, in which boys and society at large finally see that football is not for men or women: football is for footballers. By supporting women’s football from the stands, as followers and sponsors, in the media and within the Board of Directors and all areas of the Club, we make it stronger, unstoppable. In this regard, supporters’ clubs play a key role in supporting our female footballers both home at the Johan Cruyff Stadium and away, bringing them closer to your headquarters. We are counting on all of you: together, progress is possible.
Maria Teixidor Jufresa
Secretary of the FC Barcelona Board of Directors and responsible for Women’s Football
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Forging ahead together
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FC BARCELONA’S SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS PROMOTE EQUALITY WITH THEIR WOMEN’S TEAMS, TEACHING THAT SPORT IS GENDER-BLIND Women’s sport is now filling stadiums and front pages worldwide. This increasingly professionalised sector has sparked the public’s interest and passion. As clearly demonstrated by the huge numbers drawn to see FC Barcelona’s women’s first team, which week after week has been filling the recently inaugurated Johan Cruyff Stadium, and is racking up wins in all competitions. And when it comes to the fan base, then the supporters’ clubs are always right at the front cheering on our female athletes.
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Over recent decades women have risen their voice to play a relevant role in society in general, and in the world of sports in particular. The supporters’ clubs have played a key role in this process, with more and more women joining their ranks and taking up senior positions on the governing bodies of both the ‘penyes’ themselves and the federations. What is more, though, bearing in mind the special relationship between the movement and its most immediate social context, an increasing number of supporters’ clubs are promoting women’s support among their own activities, as a reflection of a changing society.
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The Agrupació and grassroots women’s football It is vital to make it quite clear from an early age that sport is gender-blind and free from any limitation. That football is for everyone, and that whatever their identity, they can all feel represented. The Agrupació de Futbol de Clubs i Penyes del FC Barcelona dates back over 60 years, and fulfils a fundamental role in this regard. The 16 supporters’ clubs which make up the organisation account for 27 mixed and women’s teams with a total of 115 female players. The Agrupació links together its passion for football and support for Barcelona, acting as a vehicle to convey educational, social and personal values to girls, such as teamwork, fair play, respect, camaraderie, humility and an awareness of current social issues.
Teams with real strength Many supporters’ clubs contribute their huge enthusiasm, strength and social impact to the equality equation, by running their own female development teams. One clear example is provided by PB Montmeló, whose Vice-Chairman is also the President of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation, Antoni Guil, and which has four women’s Futsal football teams, a junior female handball team, and another two mixed teams. It is specifically at the youngest ages that many of the teams are mixed, as in the case of PB Sant Vicenç de les Horts, where the football academy includes girls. Sporting diversity is likewise a distinctive feature of the ‘penyes’, and despite the gender imbalance in football, they promote the game and also offer such sports as basketball and hockey. Just as there are no limitations in terms of gender or the range of sports, the same applies to age. PB Barberà del Vallès, for example, runs a women’s Futsal football team with ten players in the Senior category, who take part in Catalonia’s Second Division in the sport. In this regard the Gran Penya Barcelonista de Águilas in the Murcia region was the pioneer in setting up its own local women’s handball and basketball teams. The two teams were entirely backed by the supporters’ club, which entered them in competition for many years, although now that they have become fully professional they are no longer under its control.
This goal of equality is clearly shared by all the supporters’ clubs, including at the international level, since PB Guatemala, for example, has a women’s football team, and one of the aims of PB Nicolau Casaus in Buenos Aires for 2020 is to set up its own.
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A really special Junts+
Essential partnerships The supporters’ clubs typically run and undertake a great many social, cultural, leisure and sporting projects in their regions, although some do not have the resources or infrastructure to set up their own projects. In order to keep the association movement active, though, they forge partnerships and get involved with other organisations to make their own small contribution to the social initiative in question. A fundamental role is played in this regard by two clubs belonging to the Federation of Anoia, Alt Penedès and El Garraf, which cooperate with a number of local programmes. For its part, PB La Granada provides finance and human and material resources for the La Granada Futbol Club throughout the year, including its women’s first team which plays in the Second Division. The relationship is such a close one that ‘penya’ is there in front of the fans when the team is presented at the start of the season. Meanwhile, PB Sant Cugat Sesgarrigues organises the women’s grassroots football match to mark the town’s festivities each year together with the local club. The involvement does not end there, however: a number of female members typically volunteer to take part in the competition.
Women are the future of the supporters’ clubs Many other supporters’ clubs have joined forces with their female members to visibly foster women’s sport as part of this social and sporting revolution. PB Cervelló, for example, decided to add a female team to its football academy, which already covers all male categories. The club set about recruiting female players and has been in training since last autumn, with the aim of registering with the federation and entering competitions from next season onwards. The project is still in its early days and has not yet fully taken shape, but if everyone gets involved the time will come when these are no longer small-scale pioneering projects, and instead become the norm.
The Penya Barcelonista de Perelló has a close relationship with the Perelló Handbol Club, made up entirely of mixed and women’s teams. So much so that the club twinned with one of its teams, and all the players, who are now likewise supporters, took part in the Confederation’s Junts+ project last year. Handball is a major sport in terms of local popularity in the town, and the initiative served to promote its female side. The day comprised a training session in this town near the River Ebro courtesy of the Barça Lassa handball academy trainer, and a talk about team playing styles, sporting techniques and Barça values. The Junts+ programme aims to encourage FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs to foster grassroots training, through a greater presence and representation in their local towns and regions, and across society at large.
Photography: thomas koch / Shutterstock.com
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R I T Y
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Joining Forces to Help Refugees THE WELCOME PROJECT LAUNCHED BY THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS WORLD CONFEDERATION AND THE CATALAN RED CROSS PROMOTES THE INTEGRATION OF NEW ARRIVALS THROUGH COOPERATION BETWEEN SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS AND THE HUMANITARIAN AGENCY’S BRANCHES AT A LOCAL LEVEL
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During 2019, almost 7,000 refugees were assisted in Catalonia, all of which required a special attention and support. The FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs want to make an active contribution to this. The humanitarian crisis provoked by the issue of migration in Europe has never ceased to grow in recent years. I 2019 alone, more than 100,000 people entered the continent via migratory routes that are becoming increasingly longer and more complex. Due to its geographical location in the south of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula is undoubtedly one of the first entry points for many migrants, so it provides shelter for thousands of them; and a major part go to Catalonia.
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Each of these individuals need to be attended with special care: firstly, in order to recover, and secondly, in order to restart their lives. In the face of such an unjust situation, the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation wants to lend its support and make things a little easier: to this end, it has launched a worldwide project to welcome and integrate refugees in collaboration with the Catalan Red Cross. This project is the core of the Confederation’s Solidarity Council, which oversees and coordinates all the organisation’s solidarity-related plans and programmes. It also enjoys the invaluable support of the Barça Foundation. The ultimate aim of the project is to create an extensive community network throughout the region, in order to help the Confederation and the Catalan Red
Cross take concerted and effective action. By acting strategically, and utilising the full weight and extension of both organisations, we can achieve a longer and more effective social reach. During this initial phase, the project aims to forge links between no fewer than 43 Red Cross branches and 66 Barça supporters’ clubs in the vicinity of these branches, thereby covering all of the provinces in Catalonia.
Integration and Raising Awareness As Key Elements It is vital for refugees to receive care as soon as they arrive and to be accompanied constantly throughout the
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integration process. For this reason, the project has two priority action areas: on one hand, welcome and integration; and on the other, raising awareness. In both areas, the premises of the supporters’ clubs will play an important role. Their actions will be coordinated by the corresponding federation and supported by the Confederation. In terms of welcome and integration, the aim is to carry out activities with a social focus, such as games and entertainment, charitable donations and community meals, in addition to more sporting activities, such as visiting the facilities of FC Barcelona, football matches with the supporters’ clubs, and organising charity tournaments. Enabling refugees to participate actively is key to making them feel at home. Further aims include
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promoting language-learning and contact with the culture and traditions of each country or region, in order to consolidate the refugees’ full social integration. Raising awareness is a particularly important part of the project, as it enables all supporters’ club members - and anyone else involved with the project - to gain a better understanding of the refugees’ circumstances. In turn, this will help to prevent discriminatory, racist or xenophobic behaviour, thereby creating a more positive environment. To this end, the Confederation and the Red Cross aim to work with supporters’ clubs to organise talks about the migrant crisis, awareness-raising activities and workshops, and other activities to promote and foster volunteering among supporters and the wider community.
A Project of Hope Jordi Cardoner i Casaus, the First Vice-President of FC Barcelona and Fundació, spoke of his great satisfaction with the project: “Barça is a Club that embraces integration, and so do its people, whether they are members of supporters’ clubs, season-ticket holders, or simply fans. Therefore, this project is a true reflection of who we are. We all have the responsibility to ensure that people who move to Catalonia feel at home, and we believe that through the supporters’ clubs, and in collaboration with the Red Cross, we can achieve this goal”. An especially hopeful note regarding the project and his conviction that all of the FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs would participate actively was struck by Antoni Guil, the President of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation: “This project underlines the importance of ‘penyes’ as organisations that are committed, engaged and deeply rooted. It also highlights the fact that we have a strong presence throughout the region. The members of our supporters’ clubs have always shown enormous solidarity and social conviction, and I know they will help these new arrivals to integrate”.
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Towards a new supporters’ club model
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THE BARCELONÈS EST FEDERATION’S NEW HEADQUARTERS SHOW THE WAY FORWARD FOR ALL FC BARCELONA SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS: MORE OPEN, MORE COMMITTED TO THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD AND DISPLAYING A NEW MODERN AND WELCOMING FACE
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Fem Barça, Fem Penya, Fem Barri
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Since October 2019, the city of Barcelona has a new home for FC Barcelona supporters. A more spacious, open, dynamic and, most importantly, personable home with a greater commitment to the people, communities and entities with which it coexists. We are talking about the new headquarters of the Barcelonès Est Federation of FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs, located at the point where the Barcelona districts of Horta-Guinardó, Nou Barris and Sant Andreu meet. This new location, realised in partnership with the Worldwide Supporters’ Club Confederation, is a touchstone for the materialisation of the Supporters’ Clubs’ Strategic Plan for the 21st Century. This notion was brought home by Confederation chairman Antoni Guil, who explained: “We have started evolving towards the supporters’ club model of the future and have done so while enhancing the movement’s presence in the city of Barcelona, bringing us closer to more Club members and fans. We also promote an inclusive mentality and encourage people to get involved in social aspects of the neighbourhoods, something we want to extend to the rest of the movement”.
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A place with a passion for FC Barcelona
An entity rooted in the neighbourhood
The headquarters of the Barcelonès Est Federation of FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs is the first to sport the new design and image that will define the new face of all FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs. A design based on the characteristics and symbols that identify FC Barcelona and which includes all historical and current elements that unite the supporters’ club movement around a common passion: from the players who have worn the first team’s captain armband to the image of the upcoming Espai Barça. Within these walls one finds a comfortable, inspiring atmosphere. On the one hand, it serves as an unparalleled meeting place where supporters’ club members, Club members as well as FC Barcelona fans of all ages can celebrate every time Barcelona scores. On the other, it is a multipurpose space available to host meetings or any other events related to the world of FC Barcelona and its supporters’ clubs, such as conferences, debates on current issues and all manner of talks, not to mention charity, cultural, family and recreational activities.
Raising the profile of the supporters’ clubs is another of the project’s main goals, in this case among residents of the city of Barcelona and its districts. Operating out of their headquarters, the supporters’ clubs strive to become catalysts for their particular part of the city, by organising activities or establishing partnerships with projects already under way in the neighbourhood and which share similar values and objectives. The location will also open its doors to the local communities as a site for holding meetings and other events, regardless of their content. In short, the supporters’ club of the future facilitates and improves life in the neighbourhood. What’s more, this new headquarters model also provides services to nearby supporters’ club members and FC Barcelona members, as it functions as a help desk and provides each person individual assistance. It also serves as an information point for any person, entity or association interested in finding out more about the supporters’ club movement.
This new concept of a supporters’ club venue is not only envisioned as a place for watching matches, but as a place that unifies the Federation and generates and breathes life into all manner of FC Barcelona-related experiences, in which everyone may take part.
The aim of the Worldwide Supporters’ Club Confederation is to extend these developments in the supporters’ club model -made public for the first time with the inauguration of the new Barcelonès Est Federation headquarters- to all federations, helping the movement as it moves towards the future, grow in quality and draw an increasing number of FC Barcelona supporters.
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The green turns blaugrana with the the Barça Supporters’ Clubs Open THE 3RD EDITION OF THE TOURNAMENT, PROMOTED BY THE BARCELONÈS EST SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS FEDERATION, BROUGHT OVER 60 PARTICIPANTS TO THE SANT VICENÇ DE MONTALT GOLF CLUB The combined passion for golf and FC Barcelona has spurred the creation of an event that is well on the way to becoming a tradition within the supporters’ club movement. For the third year in a row, the Barcelonès Est Supporters’ Clubs Federation, in cooperation with the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation, organised the Barça Supporters’ Clubs Open, a golf competition that unites supporters’ club members from throughout the region, who come to test their swing and, most importantly, spend a special, festive day with friends. The setting for the 3rd Barça Supporters’ Clubs Golf Open was the Sant Vicenç de Montalt Golf Club, located in the Maresme region, which received more than 60 participants from over a dozen FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs, including those from Cardedeu, Llívia, Torroella de Montgrí, Districte XXVII La Sagrera, Chema
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Corbella de Nalec and La Guineu, among others. Present at the tournament were the president of the Barcelonès Est FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Federation and driving force behind the event, Jordi Monturiol; former player and member of the ABJ, Paco Martínez; and Xavier Ilincheta, member of the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Committee. In addition to the spectacular turnout, a common denominator among all editions held thus far, this year, the Barça Supporters’ Clubs Open also served to pay tribute to the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Movement’s 100th anniversary, which is being celebrated throughout the season. And all this as part of an event held amid singular surroundings, thanks to the Maresme-based golf club’s stunning views of the sea and surrounding hills. The winners of the 3rd Barça Supporters’ Clubs Open were Antonio López, in the scratch competition; Valentí Puig and Ioan Julian, first and second-place finishers in the men’s low handicap category; Joaquim Mora and Gabriel Mojica, first and second place, respectively, among higher handicappers; and Ana Maria Martínez and Maria Teresa Gratacós, top place finishers in the women’s low handicap category. This year, in addition to the customary prizes, awards included the opportunity to watch a Barça match from the grandstand at Camp Nou, an honour bestowed on a member of the Penya Barcelonista de l’Empordà. Several gifts were also raffled away. These included four sets of two tickets to the Camp Nou Experience during a league match and various tickets to watch the Club’s other professional teams.
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Presentation of the book “Barça and Catalonia: Origins of the Symbiosis” THE PUBLICATION EXPANDS ON THE CONTENT OF THE LECTURE SERIES “BARÇA AND CATALONIA”, WHICH CONTINUES TO TRAVEL THE TERRITORY Since it began last season, the lecture series “Barça and Catalonia” has travelled to approximately sixty locations throughout Catalonia and Spain to provide supporters’ club members and Barça fans information about the origins of FC Barcelona from a sporting, social, political and cultural perspective. Now, the information detailed in these talks has been compiled and expanded on in the book Barça i Catalunya: Els orígens de la simbiosi [Barça and Catalonia: Origins of the Symbiosis]. The book was co-written by the vice-president of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation, Salvador Torres, and sports journalist Frederic Porta and includes prologues by Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of FC Barcelona; Ramón Alfonseda, president of the ABJ; and Antoni Guil, president of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation, as well as epilogues by historians Manel Tomàs and Francesc Vilanova. The book was presented in early December in an event that filled the new headquarters of the Barcelonès Est Supporters’
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Clubs Federation. Present at the event were Pau Vilanova, the FC Barcelona board member in charge of supporters clubs, and member of the Club’s Board of Directors Jordi Calsamiglia, as well as Confederation secretary Joan Giménez; the president of the Barcelonès Est Supporters’ Clubs Federation, Jordi Monturiol; president of the Gironès, La Garrotxa and el Pla de L’Estany Federation, Joaquim Vall·Llosera; and president of the L’Anoia, L’Alt Penedès and El Garraf Federation, Jaume Múria. During the presentation, the book’s co-authors, together with Xavier Gamper, grandson of Joan Gamper, who also worked on the publication, highlighted the value of this work. Barça i Catalunya: Els orígens de la simbiosi begins with the rocky years surrounding the birth of FC Barcelona, in the early 20th century, a time when the Catalan capital was a “revolutionary powder keg”. It goes on to explore the sportsrelated, political and social aspects that played a decisive role in building the Club’s identity and sheds light on the origins of the relationship between Barça and Catalonia, presently more alive than ever. Within this process, as explained by the book’s authors, supporters’ clubs first appeared in 1919, hence why the movement is currently celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary. In addition to the book presentation, the lecture series “Barça and Catalonia”, organised by the Supporters’ Clubs World Conference, has relentlessly toured the territory. From L’Escala to Dènia and Castalla in Alicante, Bigues, Amposta and Tivenys, hundreds of supporters’ club members have had the opportunity to learn more about FC Barcelona’s initial passes. And in 2020, there are no plans to slow down, as, in the first few months, more editions of the lecture series are due to take place at supporter’ clubs in Lleida, Girona and Barcelona.
CALENDAR OCTOBER 2019 - JANUARY 2020 Peña Barcelonista Denia-Marina Alta – 5/10/19 Penya Barcelonista “Joan Gamper” – 18/10/19 Penya Barcelonista La Foia – 02/11/19 Penya Blaugrana de L’Escala – 16/11/19 Penya Blaugrana Vall de Tenes – 17/11/19 Tarragona Nord Federation – 22/12/19 Penya Barcelonista de Tivenys – 17/01/20
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Tribute to the heroes of Basel 40 YEARS LATER, FORMER PLAYERS TENTE SÁNCHEZ, PACO MARTÍNEZ AND JUAN MANUEL ASENSI RECALL THE EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS’ CUP VICTORY OF 1979
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There is no stopping the #Invulnerables project SISTER LUCÍA CARAM HAS EXPLAINED HER INITIATIVE AGAINST CHILD POVERTY AT VARIOUS PLACES AROUND CATALONIA, VALENCIA AND THE BALEARIC ISLANDS
The partnership between the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation, the Barça Foundation and Sister Lucía Caram to raise awareness among supporters’ club members and FC Barcelona fans about child poverty is more active than ever. The aim of the #Invulnerables project, led by the religious activist, is to eradicate this problem, support non-discrimination among children and avoid the risk of social exclusion; a mission that requires commitment and solidarity, and one with which the supporters’ clubs movement strongly identifies; hence the incredible turnout at all recent events. One of the largest took place at the headquarters of the Penya Blaugrana d’Alcàsser “Horta Sud”, held to celebrate the 14th Meeting of the València and Marina Alta FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Federation, during which Sister Lucía Caram spoke before more than 300 supporters’ club members. Equally as impressive was the turnout at the Penya Barcelonista de
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The Penyes Futbol Games eSports competition enters a new season THANKS TO THE DIFFERENT REGIONAL FEDERATIONS, CHILDREN WILL PUT THEIR KONAMI EFOOTBALL PES 2020 VIDEO GAME SKILLS TO THE TEST
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This past November, the headquarters of the Barcelonès Est FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Federation played host to a packed house to remember a night that changed the fate of FC Barcelona in European competition. It took place on 16 May 1979, at St. Jakob Park in Basel (Switzerland), where the 4-3 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf confirmed the first European Cup Winners’ Cup for a team that, has never stopped winning international titles since. The match was also a historic milestone for FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs, as it represented the movement’s first largescale mobilisation travelling with the team to a European final. Within the framework of the habitual talks by former players, the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation wanted to pay tribute to three of the stars from this amazing feat 40 years ago: Juan Manuel Asensi, Tente Sánchez and Paco Martínez. The three shared memories and anecdotes from that night in front of the numerous supporters’ club members who had come to pay
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tribute, showing once again the importance of putting these historical moments in context, in order to understand the team’s current level of success. In addition to this special tribute, held as part of the Assembly of the Illes Balears Federation, the former players also took part in the 30th Meeting of Supporters’ Clubs from El Vallès, with a talk entitled “The Masia, the Present and Future of FC Barcelona”. Elsewhere, at the 14th Meeting of the València and Marina Alta Supporters’ Clubs Federation, centre stage was given to the discussion session entitled “Coffee with Heroes”, in which former players Ramon Alfonseda and Juan Manuel Asensi spoke about the 1971 Cup Final. CALENDAR OCTOBER 2019 - JANUARY 2020 Illes Balears Federation – 12/10/19 Penya Barcelonista l’Alba del Vallès – 13/10/19 Barcelonès Est Federation – 21/11/19 Penya Barcelonista Alcàsser “L’Horta Sud” – 30/11/19
Cardedeu, which brought together 200 people, and the Penya Barcelonista Sant Hilari, where the talk about the #Invulnerables project was part of the club’s 50th anniversary celebrations and was held before 150 attendees. Dozens of supporters’ club members were also present in Torrebesses (Lleida) and Porreres (Majorca). During the first few months of the year, Sister Lucía Caram has already scheduled appearances at the supporters’ clubs in Arenys de Mar, Vandellós and Barberà del Vallès, once again proving that charitable values are an inherent part of the FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs movement. CALENDAR OCTOBER 2019 - JANUARY 2020 Penya Barcelonista de Torrebesses – 16/11/19 Penya Barcelonista Sant Hilari – 17/11/19 Penya Blaugrana d’Alcàsser “L’Horta Sud” – 30/11/19 Penya Barcelonista Cardedeu – 3/12/19 Penya Barcelonista de Porreres – 10/01/20
After the huge success of last year’s edition, the Penyes Futbol Games project is embarking on another year filled with events that will bring young people closer to the fun, exciting world of eSports. Various qualifying rounds organised by supporters’ clubs and federations across Catalonia will culminate, in the finals held in the summer, as part of the World Supporters’ Club Congress, where the tournament winners will compete, each representing their regional federation. The protagonist of the competition will be the video game eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020, by Japanese company Konami. The new Penyes Futbol Games season began on 4 January in Roquetes del Garraf, where the Federation of Penyes of Anoia, Penedès and Garraf and the Penya Barcelonista Les Roquetes del Garraf brought together over thirty children aged between 8 and 17. This was a truly special post-Christmas event for all involved, and the top four competitors even received a gift,
as well as advancing to the finals. In January, the Supporters’ Club Football Games circuit also visited the Federation of Barcelonès Oest, through the Penya Barcelonista El Repartidor de L’Hospitalet; the Federation of Vallès, through the Penya Blaugrana Sant Cugat; and the Federation of Lleida Sud, through the Penya Barcelonista del Palau d’Anglesola. Other federations, including Barcelona Est and Tarragonès Nord, are planning their own Penyes Futbol Games tournaments in the next few months. All in all, we can see that eSports is a highly successful way to bring young people closer to FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs. JANUARY 2020 CALENDAR Federation of Anoia, Penedès and Garraf: 04/01/20 Federation of Barcelona Oest: 18/01/20 Federation of Vallès: 26/01/20 Federation of Lleida Sud: 01/02/20
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PB DEL PALAU D’ANGLESOLA “Together, anything is possible”
club, we have a deep sense of responsibility towards our Club”. It was therefore clear they wanted to become an official supporters’ club. After a couple of meetings with around fifty people, in which the initial idea was developed, FC Barcelona put them in contact with the president of their region, the Federation of Lleida Sud i La Franja. “It was never an option to go alone. We wanted to be part of this Club”, explains Josep Maria.
THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUB IS A KEY SOCIAL PLAYER IN THE REGION OF LLEIDA AND HAS ORGANISED COUNTLESS CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES SINCE 2006 RAISING ALMOST €20,000
The “Together, anything is possible” campaign
The Penya Barcelonista del Palau d’Anglesola was founded in 2006, the same day the first team brought home a Champions League victory. According to the supporters’ club president, Josep Maria Crespo, “that was a prelude: we were on the threshold of the greatest team in FC Barcelona’s history”. In a town of just over 2,100 inhabitants, the supporters’ club has more than 315 members, all insatiable FC Barcelona devotees. Since the beginning, the club members have taken their involvement in social, recreational and sporting initiatives very seriously, because “as members of an FC Barcelona supporters’
During the 2018-2019 season, the Lleida-based supporters’ club embarked on “a dream”, a wonderful path it wants to keep repeating: the campaign Together, anything is possible. During that year, the ‘penya’ organised a series of social, cultural, community-based and sporting activities, all for one charitable purpose: to raise funds to help make the new Paediatric Cancer Centre at the SJD Children’s Hospital a reality. This children’s oncology centre, which is currently being built thanks to the population’s selfless collaboration, will be able to provide the best treatment to children with cancer.
The supporters, at the food and toy drive
Closing day of the “Tots junts és possible” campaign
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Big parade during the charity party
The challenge facing the supporters’ club members was clear: they needed to raise €12,000. To do so, they organised several activities, including serving charitable meals and hot chocolate, selling tickets and bracelets and holding sponsored walks, cycling events, tournaments, musical performances, talks and raffles. The youngest supporters’ club members even created a video featuring a number of well-known people, who pledged their support to the initiative: Kilian Jornet, Víctor Valdés, Joan Capdevila, Bojan Krkić, Sister Lucía Caram, José Luís Blanco, and many more. Aware of the collective strength of Barça supporters’ clubs and confident the town residents would support their efforts, the club threw itself into the project, in which over 50 volunteers and 60 companies and institutions ultimately took part and gave it their all. The campaign ended with a non-stop 12-hour charitable party on the 9th of June, which brought together 700 people and succeeded in raising €19,200. “What started off as a dream is now a reality that shows that ‘together, anything is possible’. It sounds incredible, but we’re already planning the second edition, in which we expect to outdo ourselves”, excitedly explains the supporters’ club president and driving force behind the project. In fact, they have already begun raising funds with performances of the show Pastorets (Borrego i Carquinyoli) as part of the Christmas Festival.
Children’s football tournament
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Some walkers at the popular promenade
A charitable supporters’ club par excellence Although individual efforts work, the supporters’ club members are well aware they can achieve a greater impact when working together. In this regard, the supporters’ club is a major social and charitable player in the region. Over the past five years, they have organised a clothing and toy drive under the motto “A toy, a dream”. For the first time ever, ten neighbouring towns, took part in this year’s edition -most of which are home to local supporters’ clubs that threw their full weight into the project- helping to collect 1,200 kilos of clothes and over 1,000 toys. Furthermore, over the past 14 years, they have strengthened, even professionalised, their biggest asset: the ability to help others. From community activities such as barbecues, al fresco dinners, talks and plays to recreational activities such as the Salsa Party, attended by over 500 people, and the 80s and 90s Revival Party, with over 1,000 attendees. “The years go by, but the memories we have of these parties are incredible. For members of the supporters’ club, the motto Més que un Club is not just a catchphrase, it’s the leitmotif that sums up our efforts since the beginning”, concludes Josep Maria.
Spinning session at the charity party
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”A charitable supporters’ club par excellence” PB del Palau d’Anglesola Photography: Anglesola church square - Author: Araceli Merino / Wikimedia Commons
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“A pioneering spirit in the region of Murcia” GPB ÁGUILAS Photography: Sunset in Águilas / Author: csh3d / Shutterstock.com
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A pioneering spirit in the region of Murcia THE LARGEST FC BARCELONA SUPPORTERS’ CLUB IN THE REGION OF MURCIA WAS ALSO THE FIRST TO ORGANISE A SUPPORTERS’ MEETING OUTSIDE CATALONIA In the summer of 1971, around fifty FC Barcelona supporters residing in the coastal city of Águilas decided to get to work on one idea they had been mulling over for some time: to create the first FC Barcelona supporters’ club not only in the city, but the entire region of Murcia. As a result, on 23 September of that year, the Gran Peña Barcelonista de Águilas was founded. The club earned official status in 1972 following an institutional visit by then president of FC Barcelona, Agustí Montal. The main driving force behind this supporters’ club was José María López Casado, who served as president for 40 years: “I was born in Águilas, but my family soon moved to Barcelona. When
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I came back, 29 years later, I was a member of FC Barcelona, and the passion for this club was a big part of my life, so I knew I wanted to create a supporters’ club with all the other Barça supporters in the city”. López Casado is currently the club’s honorary president. Once active, the supporters’ club quickly took off, so much so that it reached more than 850 members within the first year, making it the largest supporters’ club in all of Águilas. In the first few years, the club played a key role in promoting sport in the city. “Thanks to us, the city of Águilas was able to start its first women’s basketball and handball teams, and we also sponsored other local teams”, López Casado recalls. Parallel to this, they also organised recreational and cultural initiatives for the benefit of the entire city, such as pushing for a Three Wise Men Day Parade through the city’s streets.
New paths for the Supporters’ Meeting The Gran Peña Barcelonista de Águilas holds a very special distinction within the movement: it was the first supporters’ club to organise a Supporters’ Meeting outside Catalonia. The Meeting was held in 1991, year of the club’s 20th anniversary,
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Agustí Montal signs the formalization of the penya
and organising it was no easy task. “Moving the event to a location outside Catalonia meant breaking with one of the Club’s long-standing traditions. But thanks to our perseverance and power of persuasion, the supporters’ club community accepted the proposal and the 15th Supporters’ Meeting in Águilas became a reality”, explains the honorary president. The event took place in late September and was attended by all members of FC Barcelona’s Board of Directors, headed by president Josep Lluís Núñez. The two days the meeting lasted included numerous sporting, recreational and cultural events, all of which revolved around FC Barcelona, and everyone was astonished by the passion inspired by this club in Murcia. It was clear that Águilas was the ideal setting for the Meeting and that the decision to blaze new trails had been an excellent idea. By hosting this event, the Gran Peña Barcelonista de Águilas, as well as the city of Águilas, became pioneers in the movement, as well as a point of reference for all FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs outside Catalonia with an aspiration to organise a Meeting.
The GPB Águilas, at the 2018 Copa del Rey final
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Josep Lluís Núñez at the XV Trobada de Penyes
Support for all teams A couple of times each season, members of the Gran Peña Barcelonista de Águilas travel to Barcelona to watch the first team play. Yet their visits are not limited to this. “Every time we go to Barcelona we really take advantage of the weekend; we see which teams are playing at home and go to as many matches as possible. We love to cheer on Barça B and the women’s first team, but we also make sure not to miss out on handball, hockey or futsal”, remarks Miguel Ángel Soler, the club’s current president.
Historically, the Gran Peña Barcelonista de Águilas has been present at all of the Club’s major European milestones: the 1979 and 1989 European Cup Winners’ Cup Final in Basel and Bern, the first European Cup in Wembley in 1992... at all of them, members of the supporters’ club were in the stands. And, more recently, more than twenty club members attended the last two King Cup finals in Madrid and Seville. This year, they hope to repeat the experience and celebrate a new FC Barcelona title.
One of the penya’s trips to Camp Nou
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PB WASHINGTON DC “Being a ‘culer’ is a universal sentiment” THE AMERICAN SUPPORTERS’ CLUB COLLABORATES ON AN ONGOING BASIS WITH DC SCORES, A LOCAL CHARITY ORGANISATION FOR CHILDREN AT RISK OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION Located in the heart of the capital, the Penya Barcelonista de Washington DC has brought together around 200 supporters many of which are families with children- since January 2011. The supporters’ club was the brainchild of Raimon Puigjaner, a staunch ‘culer’ from Catalonia who was living and working in Washington and assiduously frequented one of the city’s most popular sports bars. There he met a dozen-odd people who, together, created a business card with a shared e-mail address. Whenever they saw someone wearing a Barça shirt or talking about the Club, they approached them and handed them their card. Over time, and with a great deal of hard work, they set up a website and numerous social media profiles in efforts to reach more people, while they completed all the steps necessary to
Some kids with scarves of the penya at the Fall Frenzy Tournament
become an official supporters’ club. In summer 2011, the first team played a friendly against Manchester United in Washington DC. “It was a big honour for us to organise a meeting at our headquarters, which was attended by 160 supporters”, explains Mark Roth, president of the ‘penya’. The guest of honour was Sandro Rossell, then president of FC Barcelona, who welcomed the supporters’ club into the movement. “Being so far from Barcelona makes it difficult to get involved in the day-to-day Barça activities, such as matches or charity events. Despite this, we are extremely grateful when the team visits the United States during the preseason, as this gives supporters’ club members who are unable to travel to Camp Nou the chance to experience Barça first-hand”, remarks Sara Adkins-Blanch, vice-president of the supporters’ club, who goes on to add that, “being a ‘culer’ is a universal sentiment that all supporters’ club members share, both near and far”. A prime example is the club’s presence at all Pan-American Penyes meetings.
Involvement with DC Scores The aim of the supporters’ club is to maintain a network for Barça fans in Washington, making sure they can watch all the
A young female team celebrates a goal
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Former player Juliano Belletti receives a scarf of the penya
matches, promoting social responsibility and supporting local charity projects. As a result, since its creation, it has maintained an ongoing collaboration with DC Scores, an organisation that helps children at risk of social exclusion through an after-school activities programme. It builds a sense of community through sport and learning, with initiatives such as football teams, poetry workshops and community service activities. The tie between the two institutions was formalised by Aaron Plantenberg, a former supporters’ club member and volunteer. Each year, the PB Washington DC donates $1,000 and contributes in the form of sports equipment and volunteer work at charity events such as the Fall Frenzy and Spring Jamboree tournaments, in which the ‘penya’ organises a penalty competition. Mark Roth, club president and avid photographer, also takes photographs of the events, which he sometimes sells to raise funds for charitable purposes. On the other hand, according to Anthony Francavilla, chief development officer of DC Scores, “for years, the workers and volunteers had a lot of difficulties getting the kids to play goalie. But ever since 2012, when the supporters’
Members of the penya during the 2017 American Tour
club donated a goalkeeper kit for each team, the players love standing in goal and are extremely proud of their distinctive kits”.
Sport as a charitable tool In efforts to keep members actively involved, the supporters’ club organises a number of social events throughout the year, as well as an annual winter party in which they raffle away a selection of Barça merchandise. “Although most purchase it in the Barça store at Camp Nou when we go to the stadium, the most popular gift is definitely the ‘caganers’ of the players”, explains the vicepresident. Whenever the opportunity arises, they travel to Barcelona to visit the museum or cheer on the team from the stands. A dozen club members actually attended last December’s match against Real Madrid. This season, the supporters’ club is poised to celebrate its tenth anniversary, and some of its plans for the future include the creation of a youth-league football team, sending a few DC Scores participants to the Barça Academy Summer Camp in Washington and raising funds to improve the situation of children with cancer.
The supporters, at the penya’s heaquarters in Washington
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“Being a ‘culer’ is a universal sentiment” PB Washington DC Photography: The Jefferson Monument in spring, Washington DC - Author: ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com
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Vilanova de Meià
• Festivities held in Vilanova de Meià to celebrate the supporters’ club’s 25th anniversary
Milan
• First Meeting among Italian-speaking Supporters’ Clubs
Vallès
• 30 years of Barça Meetings in the Vallès • The Penya Blaugrana de Sant Cugat celebrates its 40th anniversary
Alacant
• Tremendous turnout at the 8th Alacant Supporters’ Clubs Meeting
Barcelona
• Huge success for the Barcelonès Oest Charity Dinner • Reception with the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Association - the Agrupació de Futbol de Clubs i Penyes del Barça • XII Barcelonès Est Supporters’ Clubs Evening
AN ACTIVE MOVEMENT The FC Barcelona supporters club movement is present in all five continents and continues to grow. To emphasise its presence, supporters clubs organise hundreds of events throughout the year. In this section we’ll highlight some of the latest events:
Empordà
• A Blaugrana November in the Empordà
Valencia
• The Valencia supporters’ clubs gather for their 14th Meeting
Mexico
• Barça fever at the second Barça Supporters’ Clubs Meeting in Mexico
Castilla-La Mancha
• Castilla-La Mancha celebrates their Seventh Gala
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VILANOVA DE MEIÀ TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF PASSION FOR FC BARCELONA
Festivities held in Vilanova de Meià to celebrate the supporters’ club’s 25th anniversary NEARLY ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE SHARED IN THE CELEBRATIONS FOR THE PB VILANOVA I VALL DE MEIÀ On 12 October, the small town of Vilanova de Meià, in the Noguera region of Catalonia, dressed to the nines to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Penya Barcelonista Vilanova i Vall de Meià, one of the largest supporters’ clubs in the Ponent Nord. Present at the event, which kicked off with an official reception at the town hall by the major, Xavier Terré, were
The attendees at the 25th anniversary sing the FC Barcelona anthem
Josep Pont, member of FC Barcelona’s Board of Directors, and Paco Clos, former player and member of the FC Barcelona Players’ Association (ABJ). The supporters’ club then held a commemorative lunch attended by nearly one hundred people from around the valley. In addition to the president of the Ponent Nord Supporters’ Clubs Federation, Maurici Vidal, and the president of the PB Vilanova i Vall de Meià, Josep Roqué, also reluctant to miss out the event were Ramon Burniol, president of the Bages, Berguedà i La Cerdanya Supporters’ Clubs Federation; Claudio Bosch, president of the Lleida Sud Federation; and Josep Maria Huguet, member of FC Barcelona’s Football Sports Committee. Attendees also had the chance to enjoy the invaluable company of Joan Casals, the Grandfather of FC Barcelona, who once again showed his support for the FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs movement and made this special event even more inspiring for the Lleida-based supporters’ club.
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Antonio Freire, president of the World Federation, with Italian supporters’ clubs members
MILAN UNITING THE ITALIAN SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS
First Meeting among Italianspeaking Supporters’ Clubs THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE EVENTS WAS TO SPREAD FC BARCELONA VALUES The first Italian-speaking Supporters’ Clubs Meeting was held in early October in Milan and was attended by supporters’ clubs Penya Lombarda FC Barcelona (as host), the Penya Barcelonista de Turin, FC Barcelona Penya Ticinio, the Penya Barcelonista de Genova, the Penya Blaugrana di Roma and the Penya Blaugrana di Napoli. The ultimate aim of the meeting was to unite the
movement, to spread the values of FC Barcelona in the area and ultimately to deepen the friendship, fraternity and exchange between supporters’ clubs. The event included many charitable, sports and culture activities, such as the “I Carmine Infante Trophy” futsal tournament, the collectors exhibit “120 years of History of FC Barcelona – 1899”, a conference and a debate by Italian and Catalan blaugrana collectors, as well as a charity raffle. Leading exponents attended the meeting in representation of the club, including the President of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation Antoni Guil, the President of the World Federation, Antonio Freire, and the Catalan Government delegate in Italy, Luca Belizzi. All of them, as well as the participating penyes, reaffirmed their conviction that this will be the first of many meetings to be held in Italy.
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VALLÈS 30 YEARS BUILDING UP SUPPORTERS
FOUR DECADES OF BARÇA
30 years of Barça Meetings in The PB de Sant Cugat the Vallès celebrates its 40th anniversary THE FEDERATION CELEBRATES ITS 30TH SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS MEETING AND THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF PB L’ALBA DEL VALLÈS The Federation of the Penyes Barcelonistes del Vallès held its 30th Supporters’ Clubs Meeting on Sunday 13 October in Sant Fost de Campsentelles coinciding with the 10th Anniversary of the Penya Barcelonista l’Alba del Vallès. The activities included the conference “La Masia, present and future of Barça”, featuring former players José Vicente “Tente” Sánchez, Juanjo Carricondo and Flor de Luna, as well as a commemorative lunch and the traditional the exchange of gifts between the Club and the honoured supporters’ club, with the presence of Pau Vilanova, a member of the FC Barcelona Board of Directors and supporters’ clubs manager. Also attending the event were the president of the Federation of the Penyes Barcelonistes del Vallès, Joan Giménez, and the president of the PB Alba del Vallès, Josep Estaio. A sum of one hundred supporters’ clubs members gathered at the Espai Ateneu of Sant Fost.
The penyes from Vallès, in front of the Sant Fost de Campcentelles town council
THE EVENT WAS LED BY FC BARCELONA’S FIRST VICE PRESIDENT JORDI CARDONER I CASAUS The Penya Blaugrana de Sant Cugat, chaired by Josep Maria Félez, celebrated its 40-year anniversary at a local restaurant on 17 November. 180 people representing a total of 28 Barça supporters’ clubs from all over Catalonia gathered there. The anniversary was chaired by the first Vice-President of FC Barcelona and the Barça Foundation, Jordi Cardoner i Casaus, alongside the Club’s members of the Board of Directors Jordi Argemí and Josep Ramon Vidal-Abarca; the President of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation, Antoni Guil, and the former player and President of the Barça Players’ Association, Ramon Alfonseda. Also in attendance were the President of the FC Barcelona Agrupació de Futbol de Clubs i Penyes (Supporters’ Clubs Association) Lluís Monràs; the President of the Penyes Barcelonistes del Barcelonès Oest, Salvador Balsells; and the mayoress of Sant Cugat del Vallès, Mireia Ingla. The mayoress emphasised that this was one of her first events as mayoress, and more specifically, her first supporters’ club event, and she left feeling “very happy and satisfied.”
First Vice-President Jordi Cardoner i Casaus leads the cake cutting
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Guillermo Amor receives a shirt he once wore as a player, handed over by Francisco Baile
ALACANT A DAY FULL OF EVENTS
Tremendous turnout at the 8th Alacant Supporters’ Clubs Meeting ORGANISED BY THE FB LA FOIA, THE EVENT BROUGHT TOGETHER MEMBERS FROM 30 REGIONAL SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS On Saturday 2 November, the Alacant FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Federation and the Penya Barcelonista La Foia organised the 8th Alacant Supporters’ Clubs Meeting in the town of Castalla. The meeting included numerous events and proved a huge success, as over 150 people representing 30 supporters’ clubs from around Alicante took part. The celebration began with a solidarity lunch attended by Antoni Guil, president of the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation; Francisco Baile, president of the Alacant
Supporters’ Clubs Federation; and Daniel Peinado, president of the Castilla-La Mancha Federation. They were joined by Juan Manuel Asensi and Ricardo Serna, former players and members of the FC Barcelona Players’ Association. In the afternoon, the Alacant FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Federation held a General Assembly, after which members had the opportunity to hear a lecture entitled “Barça and Catalonia: Origins of a Century-Long Symbiosis”, by Salvador Torres, vice-president of the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation and president of the València i Marina Alta Supporters’ Clubs Federation; journalist Frederic Porta; and Xavier Gamper, grandson of the founder of FC Barcelona, Joan Gamper. In the evening, the Castalla Town Hall hosted the day’s most institutional event, in which a number of municipal representatives, headed by mayor Antonio Bernabéu, received the envoys from FC Barcelona, led by Josep Ramon VidalAbarca, member of FC Barcelona’s Board of Directors, and Guillermo Amor, director of Institutional and Sporting Relations for Barça’s first team. This was followed by a commemorative dinner and the traditional awarding of gifts, which brought to an end an intense but memorable day for all attendees.
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BARCELONÈS OEST MORE THAN 150 CHARITABLE SUPPORTERS
Huge success for the Barcelonès Oest Charity Dinner SOME 400 KG OF FOOD WAS COLLECTED FOR THE BONA VOLUNTAT EN ACCIÓ ASSOCIATION AND A DONATION OF €1000 WAS MADE TO THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL The Barcelonès Oest Supporters’ Clubs Federation organised a Charity Dinner on 16 November in support of the Associació Bona Voluntat en Acció association and Barcelona Children’s Hospital. Some 400 kg of food was collected for the association,
Salvador Balsells, Pau Vilanova and Antoni Guil toast to celebrate the success of the charity dinner
while the Federation donated €1,000 to the hospital. Held in a well-known restaurant in the town of Sant Cugat, the event gathered more than 150 supporters on behalf of the more than 30 supporters’ clubs that form part of the Federation. The event was chaired by Pau Vilanova, member of the FC Barcelona Board of Directors and supporters’ club manager, and attended by Antonio Guil, President of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation; Samuel Okunowo, a former player and member of the Barça Players’ Association; Salvador Balsells, President of the Barcelonès Oest Supporters’ Club Federation; Javier Massaguer, director general of the Children’s Hospital; and Aurora Mahedero, president of the Associació Bona Voluntat en Acció. Other key attendees included President of the World Federation, Antonio Freire, and the President of the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Association, Lluís Monràs.
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Group photo with all the attendees at the reception
BARCELONA A NOTABLE EDUCATIONAL TASK
Reception with the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Clubs Association - the Agrupació de Futbol de Clubs i Penyes del Barça JORDI CARDONER AND ANTONI GUIL RECEIVED THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS THAT FORM PART OF THE ASSOCIATION An institutional representation of FC Barcelona, headed by the first Vice-President Jordi Cardoner i Casaus, with directors Pau Vilanova, Supporters’ Clubs Manager Emili Rousaud, and Marta Plana; as well as the President of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation, Antoni Guil, attended the Camp Nou’s President Suñol Box to receive a wide representation of the FC Barcelona
Supporters’ Clubs Association. The event was also attended by former Barça player Paco Clos; the representatives of all the supporters’ clubs that form part of the Association, headed by its president Lluís Monràs; the treasurer of the Confederation, Vicenç Notari; and all the presidents of the Supporters Clubs’ Federations represented in the Association. The reception was held to acknowledge the notable educational role the Association has played in its 63-year history, enabling many young people from different towns and districts to play football, be part of the supporters’ club movement, and promote Barça and the values of the Club in their area. The Association currently comprises sixteen clubs, totalling 265 teams from different categories, which bring together approximately 3,542 players of different ages. The current members comprise the following supporters’ clubs: Penya Anguera, Unió Barcelonista Catalònia, Cinc Copes, Collblanc, l’Hospitalet, Ramon Llorens, Club Blaugrana Terlenka, Sant Cugat, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Vicenç dels Horts, Trinitat Vella, Vallirana, Villaverde-Penitentes, La Roca, Cervelló and Castellbisbal.
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BARCELONÈS EST EL SENTIMIENTO AZULGRANA
XII Barcelonès Est Supporters’ Clubs Evening DIRECTOR PAU VILANOVA, PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERATION, ANTONI GUIL, AND FORMER PRESIDENT SANDRO ROSSELL LEAD THE EVENING’S EVENTS The twelfth edition of the Supporters’ Clubs Evening was held on 22 November in what has become an essential event on the calendar for the Barcelonès Est Supporters’ Clubs Federation, marking the end of the year for the district’s supporters’ clubs. More than 200 people gathered for the evening, which was led by the FC Barcelona supporters’ club manager, Pau Vilanova; the President of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation,
Antoni Guil; former President Sandro Rossell; and former players and members of the Barça Players’ Association Juan Manuel Asensi, Pere Valentí Mora and Paco Martínez. During the dinner, the supporters’ clubs were given recognition in gratitude for their solidarity with the 2019 Sahara project, and Trinitat Vella Supporters’ Club won first prize in the fourth Ruta de les Fonts photography contest for their image “Tots units fem força”. A plaque was also awarded in recognition of FC Barcelona’s involvement in the 40th anniversary of Basel, and the 2019 Optimisme Blaugrana prize was awarded to the Vice President of the Confederation, Salvador Torres, and to sports journalist Frederic Porta, for his role in the centenary of the supporters’ clubs movement. The highlight and the most exciting moment of the evening was the presentation of the Federation’s 2019 Sentiment Blaugrana Award, which this year went to former President Sandro Rossell, who showed his deep appreciation for the award.
Pau Vilanova, Antoni Guil and the rest of supporters’ clubs representatives showed their support to former president Sandro Rosell
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Dídac Lee, member of the FC Barcelona Board of Directors, at the PB Montgrí i Comarca headquarters
EMPORDÀ A TRIBUTE TO THE EMPORDÀ SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS
A Blaugrana November in the Empordà THE PB MONTGRÍ I COMARCA CELEBRATED THEIR 45TH ANNIVERSARY AND THE PB L’ESCALA THEIR 40TH
Paco Martínez, and was held at the PB Montgrí i Comarca facilities where over 200 supporters were waiting, along with the president of the supporters’ club, Josep Sullastres; the mayor of Torroella, Jordi Colomí and the councillor for sports, Genís Pigem. L’Escala, 40 years of Barça
This November, the Girona districts of the Alt and Baix Empordà celebrated double with two special anniversaries. The Penya Barcelonista Montgrí i Comarca supporters’ club celebrated its 45th anniversary, while the Penya Blaugrana de L’Escala celebrated its 40th. Both celebrations were led by FC Barcelona board member in charge of the club’s technological area, Dídac Lee.
Later on the same day, the facilities at L’Escala hosted the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the local supporters’ club. Celebrations began with the arrival of the manager and former Barça player and member of the Barça Players’ Association, Paco Clos; where more than 200 people gathered including the president of the supporters’ club and president of the Federació de Penyes Barcelonistes de L’Empordà i Catalunya Nord, David Falgàs; the town mayor, Víctor Puga; and the councillor for culture and sports, Rafael López and Boran Minic, respectively.
The event commenced with the arrival of director Dídac Lee who is from Figueres; the Member of the Social Commission and FC Barcelona supporters’ clubs manager, Daniel Sala, and former Barça player and member of the Barça Players’ Association,
Following the speeches, the PB L’Escala supporters’ club paid tribute to the former presidents and former members of the board of directors of PB L’Escala who have ensured the continuity of the supporters club over this time.
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VALENCIA A WEEKEND MEETING AND ANNIVERSARY EVENT
The Valencia supporters’ clubs gather for their 14th Meeting THE MEETING COINCIDED WITH THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORGANISING CLUB FROM ALCÀSSER, “L’HORTA SUD” The Valencia and Marina Alta Federation of Supporters’ Clubs gathered 31 supporters’ clubs in the area on Saturday 30 November for the fourteenth edition of their annual meeting, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Alcàsser based supporters’ club “L’Horta Sud”, event organiser. Representatives from the supporters’ club movement included member of the FC Barcelona Supporters’ Club Commission Manel Torrentallé; President of the Barça Players’ Association, Ramon Alfonseda; former Barça Players’ Association (ABJ) player and member Juan Manuel Asensi; and the President of the Federation and
The attendees at the València i Marina Alta Federation Meeting, during the celebration
Vice President of the Supporters’ Clubs World Confederation, Salvador Torres. The celebration, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the supporters’ club movement and the ABJ’s 60th anniversary, kicked off in the evening with the talk “Invulnerables” by Sor Lucía Caram. This was followed by a video showing the city and a welcome from the president of the host club, Leopoldo Hernández, who thanked the 200 supporters present. The town mayor, Eva Zamora then highlighted the role of supporters’ clubs in the area and their social involvement. Before Salvador Torres said a few words, a video in tribute to the former basketball player Chicho Sibilio was shown, as well as the video for the centenary of the supporters’ club movement that is being celebrated this year. To round off, Ramon Alfonseda and Juan Manuel Asensi thanked the supporters’ clubs for their warm welcome at all the events they have attended, followed by a few words by the member of the Supporters’ Clubs Committee. The evening ended with a talk “Els Cafés dels Herois”, in which the two former players spoke about the 1971 Cup Final, which ended with a Barça victory against Valencia, with a decisive goal by Alfonseda himself in extra time.
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Dozens of supporters’ clubs members gathered at the city of Puebla
MEXICO SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS AROUND THE WORLD
Barça fever at the second Barça Supporters’ Clubs Meeting in Mexico MORE THAN 120 SUPPORTERS FROM CENTRAL AND NORTH AMERICA ENJOYED TWO DAYS OF ACTIVITIES IN THE MEXICAN STATE OF PUEBLA The second Supporters’ Clubs Meeting in Mexico was held at the beginning of December in the city of Puebla, organised jointly by supporters’ clubs Penya Blaugrana Un Crit Valent, Peña Rincón del Barça, and Penya Blaugrana Ciutat de Mèxic. The event
brought together more than 120 supporters from a total of seven supporters’ clubs, including the four other clubs who joined the Mexicans: the Penya Virtual Blaugrana, the Penya Barcelonista Chicho Sibilio (Dominican Republic), the Peña Barcelonista de Guatemala and the Penya Blaugrana San Diego (United States). The meeting was attended by José Manuel Vargas, the Supporters’ Clubs World Federation Regional Manager for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, with the presidents of the three organising clubs as hosts. Over the course of the two days, attendees enjoyed all kinds of activities, such as a three-a-side football tournament, an exhibition of historical FC Barcelona jerseys, a fraternal lunch or a solidarity campaign to collect toys and raise funds for two charity foundations, among others. All this made a weekend full of shared excitement and Barça passion.
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CASTILLALA MANCHA ELEGANCE AND SOLIDARITY
Castilla-La Mancha celebrates their Seventh Gala THE PRESIDENT OF THE SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS WORLD CONFEDERATION ANTONI GUIL ATTENDED THE EVENT ALONGSIDE 350 SUPPORTERS The Federation of Penyes Barcelonistes de Castilla-La Mancha, gathered 35 supporters’ clubs and more than 350 supporters on 14 December at their Seventh Annual Gala. The evening was led by the President of the Supporters’ Club World Confederation, Antoni Guil; former players and member of the Barça Players’ Association, Ricardo Serna and Juan Carlos Rodríguez; and by the President of the local Federation, Daniel
Antoni Guil joined the Castilla-la Mancha supporters’ clubs members in their seventh gala
Peinado; among other representatives of the Barça supporters’ club movement. The event began with a charity visit to the Virgen de la Luz Hospital in Cuenca, in which the members of the Federation and the President of the Confederation gave the hospitalised children the toys collected from their charity campaign “Somriures blaugranes” (“Barça smiles”). They also donated several electronic tablets to help facilitate the management and administration work at the hospital. The evening began with the Gala, in which Daniel Peinado, president of the organising Federation, welcomed everyone and began by presenting awards to the Best Supporters’ Club, Best Supporters’ Club Director, Best Supporter, as well as the 5th Bodegas Iniesta Award. Then he and Antoni Guil presented the Sixth Tito Vilanova Prize for their solidarity with the Super Nenas, a group formed of women suffering from breast cancer, chaired by Montserrat Jiménez.