16.10.2010 12:15

Record assembly attendance

Roger Bognuyà

A record number of club members attended the FC Barcelona general assembly this year with no less than 1,195 delegates flocking to the Palau de Congresos de Catalunya on Saturday morning.

The high figure, recorded at 12:00, was evident as the hall was clearly busy with supporters wishing to hear what the new board were going to say. In the previous decade the number of people attending the event has only once topped the 1,000 mark and that was in 2008.

High turnout

That large number in 2008 came as a result of former president Joan Laporta putting his position in the hands of the club members a six weeks after a vote of no confidence was put forward by Oriol Giralt and Christian Castellvi. That could well have see the last board forced to leave only for Laporta to stay on with a poll rating of 55.83 per cent in his favour.

Bold move

Sandro Rosell was proven to be correct in his decision to move the general assembly from its usual position in August to a later date, in this case October, and to coincide with a first-team football match in Camp Nou. The new board were keen to avoid holding meetings during holiday periods and that has proved to be a popular move.