How to become a member

[Interlop]

They will open it for everybody but add some restrictions like you have to be a member for 2/3 years in order to vote, vote only in Barcelona, increase the membership price for new socis and add some discounts for catalans in order to please them. Would be a great new revenue stream.
Socis have to understand that club is no more exclusively for catalans, there are more and more fans outside Spain’s borders and will only be beneficial for the club to open itself to it’s international fans.
Also, this is why I love this club, it’s owned by fans, we (I mean socis) vote and it feels like fans have a real voice in club’s matters.

 

[Richard.H]

Most of the people going to the assembly are people from the older generation and you'd be surprised at how some of them view foreign fans.

It's not great.

Will be surprised if it's approved, but don't know if it just need a simple majority which is possible or a 2/3rd majority which for me would be very surprising.

The two times I have been to Camp Nou it was flooded with tourists. I would say to my eye it seemed like the ratio of tourist to local (judging from them speaking Catalan) was about 4 to 1.

 

[Luftstalag14]

They can add restrictions like voting in Catalonia and Spain only (however that might not even be likely if they are going the route of allowing more mail-in votes and even possibly online voting down the road), but they are not supposed to treat socis differently, ie,. putting them in different classes or categories based on their residential address etc. All socis should be equal.

 

[Luftstalag14]

The two times I have been to Camp Nou it was flooded with tourists. I would say to my eye it seemed like the ratio of tourist to local (judging from them speaking Catalan) was about 4 to 1.

A lot of socis don’t go to the games. Camp Nou is very touristy indeed, one of the major attractions in Barcelona. We need those tourists to fill up our stadium most of the time.

That said, vast majority of socis are Catalan and reside in Catalonia and Spain.

 

[Richard.H]

A lot of socis don’t go to the games. Camp Nou is very touristy indeed, one of the major attractions in Barcelona. We need those tourists to fill up our stadium most of the time.

That said, vast majority of socis are Catalan and reside in Catalonia and Spain.

I get that the club is a symbol of pride for the locals, but the club was founded by foreigners. I don't see it as a big deal to let foreigners be socis. They could make it a model so that foreigner soci vote counts less to still let the local voice be heard more. At this point the club needs money and going into the future money is going to matter a lot more.

 

[frostdude1]

This is the probably the simplest way our club will get out of debt. I like it and I?m totally in!

 

[Luftstalag14]

I get that the club is a symbol of pride for the locals, but the club was founded by foreigners. I don't see it as a big deal to let foreigners be socis. They could make it a model so that foreigner soci vote counts less to still let the local voice be heard more. At this point the club needs money and going into the future money is going to matter a lot more.

They do currently let foreigners become socis, it is just harder if you don’t live in Barcelona or elsewhere in Spain. The idea is anybody, Catalan, Spanish or foreign, has to show your commitment before you become a member, if you are not related to an existing member through blood and marriage. This is contrast to the approach of many other clubs where you could just easily become a member by filling out an online application and paying them a fee, for example some of the EPL clubs and Bayern.

I actually like the current approach the club has and understand why the locals are somewhat guarded, it is their club after all and you don't want any undue influence particularly from outside parties. Even though the club was founded by some foreigners (and locals too) and it is getting more international over the years, the club is first and foremost still about the city of Barcelona and Catalonia. At the same time, as an outsider and a foreigner myself, I also understand the club should make membership more approachable to fans overseas. The club has to strike a balance, attracting and catering to increasingly international fans but not lose its Barcelona and Catalan core/identity.

I don't believe getting more money is the root cause of Laporta's idea to open up the memberships. Like I said before, we are not getting that much money from membership fees every year, opening up memberships will in money but not significantly enough. I think Laporta is genuinely trying to make the club more open and approachable to all fans around the world, that's where this is coming from, I think. If this does get approved by the socis, it will be interesting to see how they implement it. Very complex indeed.

 

[Birdy]

I actually like the current approach the club has and understand why the locals are somewhat guarded, it is their club after all and you don't want any undue influence particularly from outside parties. Even though the club was founded by some foreigners (and locals too) and it is getting more international over the years, the club is first and foremost still about the city of Barcelona and Catalonia. At the same time, as an outsider and a foreigner myself, I also understand the club should make membership more approachable to fans overseas. The club has to strike a balance, attracting and catering to increasingly international fans but not lose its Barcelona and Catalan core/identity.

I am not sure about that.
True, that's how many people in Barcelona view this, but the question is if that's still the case.
With the globalization of football and fanhood that goes with it, the purity of the local fan gets faded out

 

[Luftstalag14]

I am not sure about that.
True, that's how many people in Barcelona view this, but the question is if that's still the case.
With the globalization of football and fanhood that goes with it, the purity of the local fan gets faded out

To a certain degree yes but the locals should be the core of every club in the world, that's what I believe.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

To a certain degree yes but the locals should be the core of every club in the world, that's what I believe.

True. In the end, they probably care the most. Then there are the few outsiders who are die-hard fans, like a lot of people on this forum.

 

[Messi983]

Most of the people going to the assembly are people from the older generation and you'd be surprised at how some of them view foreign fans.

It's not great.

Will be surprised if it's approved, but don't know if it just need a simple majority which is possible or a 2/3rd majority which for me would be very surprising.

Yes, in last elections 60k out of 110k - around 55% - members with voting right were older than 50. I don't see many of those people supporting "opening up the club to foreigners".

Insight into current structure of club members (it was published by Sport a few days before elections)

https://www.sport.es/es/noticias/el...elecciones-barca-laporta-freixa-font-11552242

 

[Andresito]

How come ages 16-35 are so low? I think those are actually the ages which would benefit the most from the membership change.

 

[Andresito]

There's a general assembly on July 4. One of the points is Proposals for members in accordance with the provisions of article 20.11 of the Statutes.

The membership change must be approved by the Socios, right?

 

[kattanib]

I am willing to support the club financially on a monthly bases and I am sure many Barca fans world wide are willing to do so .. not sure why they dont have a donation account

 

[Luftstalag14]

I am willing to support the club financially on a monthly bases and I am sure many Barca fans world wide are willing to do so .. not sure why they dont have a donation account

You don’t need to donate, you can simply sign up for the Culer Membership or subscribe to Barca TV+ etc. and keep buying Barca merchandises etc.

There are plenty of ways for Barca fans to support the club financially.