"Sandro Rosell" not on support slips

The electoral board of FC Barcelona has earlier this week rejected the request by the candidacy of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell that the name 'Sandro Rosell' would be mentioned on the support slips club members can sign to give their support to the former sports vice-president. The slips now mention Rosell's official first name 'Alexandre'.

The board refers to article 44.3.[2].c.[iii] of the club statutes that supposedly says the slips cannot mention nicknames but should carry the name of the candidate. The stipulation reads as follows: "Also printed in a clear position on the official slip published by the Club will be the name of the candidate for the Presidency leading the candidacy."

Read more:
The collection of the signatures has started
Rosell: "Guardiola represents our core values"
The electoral proceedings

The process of collecting the signatures

by xaviniesta

According to Article 43 of the club statutes, the candidates in the Barcelona presidential elections must gather at least 2.095 letters of support from the club members and present these to the Electoral Commission. The candidates, who only have eight days to collect the signatures, have on Monday requested the official support forms from the Electoral Commission (read more here).

For a letter of support to be counted in favor of a candidate, the rules require that the member signing it is eligible to vote and supports only one candidate. Duplicate letters of support and those signed by members not listed in the electoral roll will be disregarded.

After the period for submission of support slips would have ended on 31 May, the Electoral Commission will carry out a verification process to check if the letters of support submitted by the candidates satisfy all the requirements and are authentic. The candidates who make the signatures' cut and who would have complied with all other conditions for candidacy will be announced on 3 June.

Read more:
The electoral proceedings
Official election calendar announced
The collection of the signatures has started

The collection of the signatures has started

Barcelona's official website reports that several Barcelona presidential candidates came to the Camp Nou this morning to ask the club for the slips that can be used to collect the 2.095 signatures of the club members that are needed to become a candidate in the vote on Sunday 13 June (read more here).

People can get a number of slips for free - 4.190, twice the signatures needed - and if they want to have more, they need to pay for them. The candidates have asked the following number of slips: Sandro Rosell 60.000, Marc Ingla 40.000, Jaume Ferrer 25.000, Agustí Benedito 20.000, Santiago Salvat 12.000, Jaume Guixà 9.000 and Alexis Plaza 4.190.

Three pre-candidates that didn't yet announce before that they have the intention to run for president of FC Barcelona also formally asked for slips. Francesc Liñan and Ferran Estrada asked for 4.190 slips, while Jordi Ruiz asked for 5.000 official papers that should be handed back to the club in two weeks with the signature of club members.

Read more:
Salvat wants to help others to collect signatures
[2003] The battle for the signatures has started
Pre-candidates need to collect signatures

The electoral proceedings

by xaviniesta

On Monday 30 April, the Barcelona board of directors officially called the elections for Barcelona president on 13 June 2010. The Board, in the exercise of their mandate under the club statutes, in particular articles 39 and 50, agreed that the following proceedings will be observed in the conduct of the elections.

1. Creation of the Electoral Commission and Committee
The members of the Electoral Commission and Electoral Committee will be drawn in a public event to be held at the club premises on Friday 14 May. These electoral bodies will be formally constituted on Sunday 16 May.

2. Posting of the Electoral Roll
The official electoral roll, or list of qualified voters, will be made available at the FCB Supporters Service Office starting Monday 17 May until Friday 21 May for consultation and reference of the club members. Claims against the electoral roll must be made in writing and presented to the Electoral Commission not later than Friday 21 May. The Commission will approve the official electoral roll on May 24, after it shall have dealt with all claims.

3. Submission of candidates' list
The list of candidates must be presented to the Electoral Commission starting Tuesday 25 May until Tuesday 1 June. The list must be in writing and contain at least 14, but not more than 21, members, including one candidate for the Presidency.

4. Submission of letters of support
The candidates' list must be submitted together with no fewer than 2.095 official letters of support from club members as well as an undertaking, in proper legal form, to sign a financial guarantee, if needed.

5. Announcement of qualified candidates
The Electoral Commission will verify that candidates have met the conditions for candidacy and have submitted the required signatures' support, after which it will announce, on 3 June, the candidate lists qualified to stand for elections.

6. One candidate list qualifies or presented
In the event only one candidate list fulfills the requirements, or only candidate list is presented, this candidate list will be declared elected and the electoral process will end.

7. More than one candidate lists qualify or presented
If more than one candidacy qualifies, the electoral process will take its course, starting with the opening of the official campaign period that will run from Friday 4 June and end at Friday 11 June.

8. Day of Reflection
A day of reflection will be observed on Saturday 12 June. Candidates will be prohibited from engaging in any direct or indirect campaign activities such as interviews, passing or publishing of campaign propaganda, putting up of posters, and other similar public actions.

9. Election Day
Voting for a new Barcelona president and his board will take place at the Camp Nou on Sunday 13 June from 9:00 to 21:00.

10. Official count and proclamation of winners
The counting of the ballots will begin immediately after the voting period ends and the winners thereafter proclaimed jointly by the Electoral Commission and Electoral Committee. The new Barcelona president and his board will officially take up their posts on 1 July.

Read more:
Who can vote in the elections?
Official election calendar announced
Who is eligible as president?

Elections officially called

As was agreed during a board meeting on 30 April, Barcelona has today offically published the notification of the elections for the next board of FC Barcelona.

As stipulated by article 39 of the club statutes, the club has to officially call the elections some 35 days before the vote. With the official call of the election, a well-defined process will start ahead of the elections on 13 June.

Read more:
Official election calendar announced
Number of voters and signatures announced
Poll result: 13 june is a good election date?

The Quote: Evarist Murtra

"The bank guarantee injects the directors with the dangerous virus of wanting to be re-elected and ends up having a perverse effect. The director may be the captive of who helps him to get the guarantee, the bank, or if he can deposit it on his own, fall into the temptation of expecting to continue believing he is entitled because of having put down the guarantee."


Evarist Murtra,
former Barcelona board member (1993-1996 and 2005-2008)

read more election quotes here

Official election calendar announced

During a board meeting this morning, the Barcelona board of directors has made a decision on the final electoral calendar ahead of the elections that will be held on Sunday 13 June. The timetable in the end looks like this:

Monday 10 May
Publication of the call of elections

Friday 14 May
Draw for the designation of the members of the Electoral Board and Table

Sunday 16 May
Act of constitution of the Electoral Board and Table

Monday 17 - Friday 21 May
Display of the Electoral Roll and claims against the Electoral Roll

Monday 24 May
Resolution of claims by the Board of Directors and passing of the definitive Roll

Tuesday 25 May - Tuesday 1 June
Presentation of candidates

Thursday 3 June
Proclamation of candidates

Friday 4 - Friday 11 June
Electoral campaign

Saturday 12 June
Day of reflection

Sunday 13 June
Election day, count and proclamation of the winners

Read more:
Number of voters and signatures announced
Elections will be held on Sunday 13 June
How much will the elections cost?

Poll result: 13 june is a good election date?

Do you think 13 June is a good date to celebrate the elections at Barça?

Yes 67%
No 28%
Don't know 5%

total votes: 61
start date poll: 29 january 2010
poll method: internet, free participation
source: la vanguardia

check more election poll results here

Number of voters and signatures announced

Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Barcelona chief executive Joan Oliver has said that Barcelona has at this moment 168.185 club members, 115.811 of which will have the right to vote in the elections for president of the club that will be held on Sunday 13 June 2010.

Oliver also confirmed that presidential candidates will need to collect the signatures of 2.095 club members to be able to take part in the final vote (read more here). The chief executive said the numbers could still change slightly.

Read more:
Who can vote in the elections?
Pre-candidates need to collect signatures
How many people will be able to vote?

What are the functions of the treasurer?

Article 30, paragraph 2, of the statutes of FC Barcelona says that the club should appoint a treasurer among the board members: "The positions that make up the Board will be, at least and necessarily, those of [...] Treasurer [...]."

Article 30.5 of the club's statutes, entitled 'Functions of the Treasurer', enumerates the tasks of the treasurer of FC Barcelona and reads as follows:

"a) To be responsible for the financial and economic area of the Club and its acts of transfer, to present to the Board of Directors proposals for agreements to be adopted regarding these issues and tp authorise payments by his signature.

b) To take the responsibility for all the Club's accounting books and documents.

c) To monitor the annual budget, providing monthly reports to the Board of Directors and making the appropriate proposals when deviations occur.

d) To prepare the reports for the closing of the financial year and the budget that the Board of Directors must annually submit to the General Assembly, to propose the undertaking of the audits stipulated by the Statutes and to sign, with approval of the President, the final documents regarding these issues that are approved by the Board.

e) To control the movements of funds of the Club and the state of the deposits, and to adapt them to what is noted in the accounting books.

f ) To provide receipts of the fees and other payments made by Club members.

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

The treasurer is not mentioned further in the statutes, apart from the reference in the first paragraph of article 34, saying that the treasurer should necessarily be part of the club's Delegate Commission, which is a kind of core board (read more here).

Read more:
What are the functions of the president?
Godall and Ferrer no longer part of 'core board'
What is the role of a vice-president?

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?

Which directors will stay on until June?

According to Article 38.f of the statutes of FC Barcelona, the members of Barcelona's board of directors who want to present themselves for re-election, should resign and leave their position a few weeks before the elections.

For the board to be able to continue the current mandate until the end of the term at the end of June of this year, the board should at least keep one third of the board members, with Article 32.4 of the club's statutes saying:

"If the resignation, renouncement or cessation of the members of the Board of Directors is produced in a simultaneous and generalised fashion, a Management Commission must be constituted to substitute the Board of Directors. […]

Concerning the previous regulation, an exception is made in the case of generalised and simultaneous resignation of the Board members when this is done in order to stand for new elections called for the natural end of the term of office […].

In this case, if the Board still has a minimum of a third of the number of its members at the time of cessation, the Management Commission will not be constituted and the Board, through the remaining members, will maintain its functions for the transitory period of the election process."

Because the board has currently seventeen members, at least six directors should stay on. Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu claims that the initial plan was that five of the current directors would continue: president Joan Laporta, economic vice-president Joan Boix, sports vice-president Rafael Yuste, board secretary Josep Cubells and director Maria Elena Fort

Besides those five people, Barcelona would like to soon add another member to the board, which should be a lawyer who could monitor the election process. The two candidates are reportedly Xavier-Albert Canal and Jaume Alonso Cuevillas (read more here).

During the last board meeting at the end of February, current director Jacint Borràs, the president of Barcelona Atlètic, would also have said that he wants to continue. Borràs, who supports the candidacy of current assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer, would that way want to control the fairness of the election process from within the club.

Read more:
How many people will be able to vote?
New board member to be appointed this month
Could president Laporta become vice-president?

Poll result: 13 June is a good election date?

Do you think 13 June is a good date to hold the Barça elections?

Yes 73%
No 27%

total votes: 5222
start date poll: 29 january 2010
poll method: internet, free participation
source: sport

Could president Laporta become vice-president?

Speaking to Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio, former Barcelona president Joan Gaspart has said that he has suggested to Barcelona president Joan Laporta that the latter could be part of a presidential candidacy in the upcoming elections as vice-president:

"What could be postive for the continuism - I told it to president Laporta but he didn't listen - is that Mr Godall or Mr Ferrer would be president and Mr Laporta vice-president. That would be a master move, machiavellian but masterly. But Mr Laporta apparently didn't follow my advice and has chosen for a political career."

In principle, the club statutes don't seem to forbid the mentioned option. The third point of Article 31, entitled 'Duration of term of office', read as follows: "The President of the Governing Board may hold office, consecutively, for a maximum of two terms. The other members of the board can be re-elected indefinitely."

And Article 38 of the statutes, that enumerates the conditions to be eligible as director, also doesn't put any obstacles if the president resigns at the right time, a few weeks before the elections (point f):

"a) To be an adult and not legally incapacitated.
b) To have been a Club member for a minimum of one year at the moment that the elections are called.
c) Not to be on suspended membership at the moment that the elections are called.
d) Not to have been associated to FC Barcelona as a player, trainer, member of the coaching staff or employee during the two years prior to the calling of elections.
e) Not to have been punished disciplinarily by the Club for a very serious infringement during the five years prior to the calling of elections.
f ) To have presented one's resignation and left the position before beginning Stage VI of the electoral procedure (presentation of candidacies) in the case of the aspiring candidate being a member of the Board of Directors or Management Commission that has called the elections and seeks to present oneself for re-election.
g) To be included in the current Electoral Roll."

Read more:
Who is eligible as president?
The five vice-presidents of Godall
When will the next president take office?

Elections could be called earlier

Barcelona blogger Sisco Pinyol reports on his blog that Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer has said on a meeting with representatives of Barcelona fan clubs on Wedneday that the elections for president of FC Barcelona could be called earlier because of a judicial decision that same day.

After the elections in 2006, the Barcelona board didn't put down a bank guarantee because they considered themselves to be a continuity board and because they had made profits since they took power in 2003.

On Wednesday, a court in Barcelona nevertheless ruled that the losses made in the last eight days of the 2002-2003 season after Laporta became president should be taken into account, something that previously didn't happen.

This now means that in the end the board didn't met the conditions necessary to not put down the guarantee after the 2006 elections and that the eight directors who were part of the 2006 board and are still in office – Joan Laporta, Alfons Godall, Jaume Ferrer, Albert Perrín, Rafael Yuste, Joan Boix, Alfonso Castro and Josep Cubells – would still have to pay the 2006 guarantee.

The club has announced in an official statement on Wednesday that they will take the case to the Suprme Court but Catalan sports paper Sport claims that this doesn't stop the enforcement of the Wednesday decision if the complainant asks for the immediate payment. In interviews with the paper, both the complainant, Barcelona club member Vicenç Pla, and his lawyer have said they plan to do this.

Catalan news site E-notícies claims that each of the board members would be responsible for 3 million euros. Ferrer said during the meeting on Wednesday with fan clubs' representatives that some directors wouldn't want to pay their part which could lead to the elections being organized earlier than 13 June.

Read more:
Elections will be held on Sunday 13 June
Marketing expert: "It will be an Obama-type campaign"
How many people will be able to vote?

Poll result: Elections on non-match day?

What do you think about the fact that the elections aren't held on a match day?

Very bad 42%
Bad 27%
Good 9%
Very good 6%
Indifferent 4%
Don't know/Don't answer 12%

total votes: 1000
date poll: 4 to 6 february 2010
poll method: telephone interviews with club members who have the right to vote, 95% certainty
source: gol

check more election poll results here

Marketing expert: "It will be an Obama-type campaign"

Carles Torrecilla, marketing professor at ESADE in Barcelona, gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.


The number of club members has grown.
Not only the number of voters has grown a lot, they've also got more heterogeneous. If there are 50.000 members, it's possible they're all very alike, but if you have 100.000 you in fact have a very heterogeneous group.

But classifiable?
If there are few, you can divide them by age, social class, by purchasing power. But when we speak about those kinds of quantities, you have to classify them based on socio-demographic characteristics.

What does that mean?
Well, we have for example a meaningful number of Barcelona fans who are immigrants, not Spaniards but foreigners. That is an aspect that in the US is taken into account a lot when signing players. The NBA teams recommend their scouts to focus on this or that country because they have a lot of fans from that area.

What should be the basic electoral strategy?
In the elections for president of Barça, candidates used to focus on one theme, I am the Catalan, or I am the one who supports the fan clubs... This won't do it any longer. This will be a campaign that is no longer focused on the mass media, but that will spread to the internet, it will be an Obama-type campaign, so to speak.

Explain yourself.
The candidates will need to have their facebook account, their mail account, their twitter account, they will have to send mobile messages, they will have to organize events at bars and clubs and things like that. Not because the voters have changed in terms of age, that would be the most instinctive reflection. Nor just because they are younger. The point is that there are different groups with different expectations. It will therefore be necessary to offer different messages.

Isn't there a risk that these messages contradict each other?
That's why the campaign shouldn't be about people but about teams. Until now, the board was formed by the president and people known by the president but not by the public. During this last term you could already see that some directors became more important. In the future, the rest of the board will embody different concerns, as in politics.

The logistics side has an influence?
Yes, because of only having one place where people can vote. This wasn't a problem until now because many members lived very close the stadium. But from now on, if the elections are not on a match day, voters belonging to one majority segment, as well as many other people, will not be represented. That will lead to conflicts. Barça being more than a club, it doesn't make sense that the elections are not held on a match day because if that's the case, the members who live the farthest won't come out to vote. On the other hand, more and more members are living further away, members who also do not usually come to watch the games. There is a risk, like in politics, that the participation drops and that the board becomes an organ that is separated from the social dynamics of the club and that could be dangerous.

Read more:
How many people will be able to vote?
Laporta meets with Obama campaign advisers
Plan for internet voting rejected

interview: f. perearnau

How many people will be able to vote?

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that possibly more than 110.000 people will have the right to vote in the elections for president of FC Barcelona later this year.

To be a qualified voter on Sunday 13 June, the elector basically needs to be an adult and have been a club member for a minimum of one year (read more here).

At the end of last year, Barcelona had 173.187 club members, more than one fifth of which are minor. The number of members on 13 June 2009, one year before the elections, is estimated around 160.000. In the 2003 elections, 94.339 club members had the right to cast their vote.

Read more:
Who can vote in the elections?
Elections will be held on Sunday 13 June
Plan for internet voting rejected

How much will the elections cost?

The cost to organize the elections for president of FC Barcelona in June will be a little less than one million euro.

This number was announced during a press conference that was given last week by Barcelona economic vice-president Joan Boix and Barcelona chief executive Joan Oliver about the financial situation of the club.

Read more:
Plan for internet voting rejected
When will the next president take office?
Elections will be held on Sunday 13 June

The Pundit: Josep M Casanovas on date elections

« The fact that there's no game is no excuse for the club members not to attend the vote if what is at stake is as important as the management of the club for the next six years. »

Josep Maria Casanovas,
Sport

check more pundit talk