FCBARCELONA.CAT

23.04.2009 21:22

London to kick off pre-season

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Barça will begin their preparations for the 2009-2010 season with a trip to London and a prestigious encounter against Tottenham at Wembley. The Blaugrana will also take on Al-Ahly at the famous stadium after the club revealed plans for the trip.

The Barça board met on Thursday and agreed the details of the summer trip to the English capital and then the first vice-president and club spokesman, Alfons Godall, told the media about the tour.

Saint Andres to London

After spending the last two seasons starting in Scotland at Saint Andres, the FC Barcelona first-team squad will spend a few days in London as they arrive on July 21 and stay until July 26.

Pep Guardiola’s team’s first opponent will be Tottenham Hotspur, who they will play on July 24, and the team will then take on Al-Ahly on July 26. Godall believe that the plan is a good one as he stated: “The conditions for the trip are ideal for the team’s initial training sessions but also it is good economically.”

Economic growth

The vice-president then reflected on the economic data for March that the club have and expressed his satisfaction with respect to the same period last year. “The financial directors have said that income has been positive and so is what we have spent,” Godall explained.

Also, marketing has increased across the board and “has seen a considerable increase with 61.3 million last year compared to 70.7 million this year”, the vice president added.

Supporters’ Clubs tickets

Godall then spoke about the news that the board has ratified the changes to the way in which supporters’ clubs gain tickets. “[The changes have been made] to guarantee the good use of these tickets and to give complete transparency,” he said. He then explained that the new measures were in place for the game in London [against Chelsea] and for the Copa del Rey final in Valencia.