05.04.2008 13:41

World Fan Club Convention underway

Míriam Nadal / Vanessa Forns

The XXXI World Fan Club Convention is currently underway in Hospitalet de Llobregat. Various activities related to everything Barça will make for an unforgettable Saturday.

Outside the Nou Camp stadium was the meeting point for all Barça fans who didn’t want to miss out on this great celebration of fan clubs. Here almost one thousand fan club members met to collect all the necessary documentation for the convention i.e. accreditation, tickets and invitations to visit the museum and also the indoor football match between FC Barcelona and Senseit Lugo.

Building strength

From half-past nine this morning, in an atmosphere of pure barcelonisma, fan club members were building their strength with a welcome breakfast of butifarra (tradicional sausage). Two of the conventions sponsors, Coca-cola and Estrella Damm, distributed drinks. Also, the convention’s official sports papers, ‘Mundo Deportivo’ and ‘Sport’, gave out free presents to all those gathered. The colours of the shirts and flags, the drums and the dances of the two giant figures, added to the atmosphere of brotherhood that was palpable from early morning.

Reception

The first official act of the convention took place in the Palauet Can Boixeres, where the town hall of Hospitalet de Llobregat had prepared a reception with various officials from FC Barcelona and the town council. The mayor of Hospitalet, Celestino Corbacho, gave a welcome speech before handing over to club president Joan Laporta.

I n his speech, Celestino Corbacho said that this year’s convention “was prepared with great enthusiasm”. The mayor of Hospitalet, who said that there have always been close links between FC Barcelona and the town “both on a social level and because of its proximity”, also wanted to wish the team the best of luck in the game against Getafe. Corbacho presented the club with a copy of a sculpture from the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia called ‘Medusa’, “because it symbolises strength and drive”.

For his part, Joan Laporte, pointed out that since 1957, the year in which the Nou Camp was built, there has been a link between FC Barcelona and Hospitalet, bearing in mind that only a few metre separate the stadium from the town. “It’s a proud reason to hold this convention at home because Hospitalet is a town which reflects the sense of progress and hard work of everybody here. It’s a town which is alive”, he added.

Representing Barça were vicepresidents Ferran Soriano and Alfons Godall; executive Jacint Borràs; other members of the board and various directors of other Barça committees. Also present were two representative of the Barcelona town council, amongst others.

A proclamation full of good humour

Afterwards, the gathering moved on to the Parc de les Planes, where representatives of more than 170 fan clubs had gathered. Here the proclamation was read in various languages by ‘town crier’, actress Amparo Moreno. In a short anecdote, the actress and comedian explained that under the pitch in the Nou Camp lies her grandmother’s vegetable plot. Amparo went on to urge all the teams at the club to “win everything”.

Laporta: “We must have a winning mentality”

The Barça president made the most of the situation to remind everybody that, on a sporting level, “we must have a winning mentality, because we can still win two important competitions like the Spanish league and Champions League.