The Supporters' Club event shows the optimism and excitement surrounding the supporters movement
The Joan Gamper Trophy day began in the morning with the Supporters Club Party in the Ice Rink hall, with about 600 supporters club members in attendance. They learned about the supporters club project driven by the Board of Directors and presented by President Joan Laporta, Vice President of the Social Area, Antonio Escudero, and Director responsible for the Social Area, Josep Ignasi Macià. Other Board of Director representatives were Vice Presidents Rafael Yuste and Eduard Romeu, and Director Xavier Puig.
Presentation of the new players
The pivotal moment of the event involved FC Barcelona's new players, when Lewandowski, Raphina, Koundé, Christiensen, and Kessié appeared on the stage in the ice rink to greet the supporters club members. The players appreciated the welcome from all the fans and expressed their desire to achieve as much as possible with Barça.
President Joan Laporta welcomed everyone present and ran through the state of play with FC Barcelona as the season begins, highlighting all the Club's efforts to bring back excitement to the Barcelona fans and to tackle this season's new challenges with optimism.
“We continue to work hard to make Barça a global benchmark once again. We have worked to find solutions to reverse the difficult financial situation, to control spending, to reduce the wage bill, and to generate new income, like new sponsorships that have been improving the Club's situation and financing, which has also enabled us to build a very competitive, exciting team again”.
"Barça will always belong to its members"
In order to carry this out, Presidente Laporta stated that the Board of Directors have always had the trust of the members behind their decisions, “which has enabled us to progress our project and shown us that Barça belongs to its members. I accept this commitment, Barça will always belong to its members. It will always be yours”.
He also wanted to mentioned the operation regarding the 'levers', “we decided on the operation that we consider most beneficial for the Club. We are an independent club that can take the decisions needed to progress and look forward, without external interferences” and he stated that “everyone who said it looked bad for our Club, didn't count on Barça's strength and the significance of the Barça brand. We didn't take any notice and we got to work to become a benchmark in world football again. The football world is again looking at Barça. That was evident from the USA tour that went really well. We again think we can win and be exciting.”
"We are one big family together"
Lastly, the Barça president has thanked the supporters' clubs' work and support, and defined the movement as a worldwide benchmark, “a single fact that makes you one of the strongest foundations of FC Barcelona, and through this new project, we want the Club and the supporters clubs to have a more direct, fluid, and transparent relationship. We have to keep the lines of dialogue pen and work together in the same direction. We are one big family together”.
Once the president's presentation had ended, the day continued with a presentation by Director Josep Ignasi Macià, who presented the details about the new supporter's club project, which aims to generate and encourage groups with the same feeling about FC Barcelona, and to enliven, modernise and strengthen the relationship with them to create commitment and community.
Antonio Escudero completed the presentations, highlighting the figure of President Joan Laporta as “the president that Barça deserves. He loves the Club, creates excitement and move mountains to obtain the highest possible benefits for Barça”.
The run up to the Joan Gamper Trophy again played host to an event during which the supporters club movement could welcome the new players and again highlighted the strength and vigour of the supporters club movement, with a lot of supporters club members in attendance who showed their excitement regarding the challenges ahead.
