Newsletter

Rosell’s “50,000 Chinese” can now become Barça members

BarcelonaOne of the first decisions taken by Sandro Rosell as president of Barça was to restrict the admission of new members. In addition to the obligation to carry out the procedures in person, it was necessary to comply with certain rules, such as first or second degree kinship with a partner who was already part of the entity. All this is behind us. A decade later, the management of Joan Laporta – who in its day had opened its doors to everyone – has completed the process to allow entry to any citizen of the world. Beyond kinship, a requirement that was repealed a few months ago, from this Tuesday it is no longer mandatory to go to the Camp Nou to register. Procedures can be done online, from anywhere on the planet. All you have to do is sign your digital signature and pay the corresponding fee of 195 euros per year for adults.

Rosell had frightened members during the 2010 campaign when he spoke of the facilities available at the time to register with the organization. “In the long run, it can get out of control. What if 50,000 Chinese become members online and end up electing a Chinese who has never been to Barcelona as president? Care must be taken not to jeopardize the club’s identity. “. As soon as he arrived at the box office, he fulfilled that election promise. A decision that was defended by his people, but which received a lot of criticism from opposition groups, who considered that the democratic spirit of Barça was degrading. This is precisely one of the arguments used by the current directive to justify the change.

Barça has 137,514 members

“We want to make the Barcelona family even bigger. Let it not only grow in our country, but also all over the world, and make this club even bigger “, points out Elena Fort, institutional vice-president in statements to the official Barça media. According to the last census, Barça has 137,514 members, 55,010 of which are registered in Barcelona, ​​72,389 in the rest of Catalonia and 10,115 in the rest of the world.

Laporta already warned in the campaign that he would end this restriction. He was not the only one. Víctor Font was also committed to eliminating the criteria that delimited who could be a member. Until the 2021 elections, a first or second degree relationship was required with a partner; those that have previously been so for two consecutive years; and those with a seniority of three years as a supporter or with a commitment card.

“We don’t know how many people will sign up. What is certain is that there will not be 50,000 Chinese,” they say sarcastically from the Barça board. For a few months now, anyone can become a member, because it is a direct competence of the board. But it was necessary to modify the statutes of the entity to open the way for online registration, a step that was achieved in the ordinary assembly of October 2021. Six months later, it has been possible to activate the process. “The delay is due to a purely technical issue. We wanted to have the maximum guarantees of protection and operation,” justifies the entity.



Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending