ELECTIONS AT BARÇA (I)

It seems that the pre-electoral campaign for the elections for President of FC Barcelona which, at the latest, will be in the spring of 2016, has already begun. Beyond the possible/probable candidates, I want to make some reflections on what I think any of them should consider.

The first (and it is what this post is dedicated t), is the club model. Not model referred to the sports side, but in terms of economic and social aspects.

Barça is a club with around 150,000 owners: the "socis" (members). All with the same rights and duties. Every 6 years by universal suffrage, we choose the person who will lead us through this period.

Each year, in order to control the action of the Board, we have the General Assembly of Commissioners. First problem. The Commissioners basically are chosen through a lottery process. That is by far, if some one wants to go to the Assembly, if the machine does not pick your membership number, you will not be there. This, among other things, makes an Assembly which has more than 4,000 potential participants, only have, at crunch time, around 1,000. Few people. Very little, to decide, and often without all the required information, what we want to be done in the next period.

Moreover, one of the things that is being considered is whether the current model can increase substantially the income/benefits of the Club. At the end of the day, if the Club has no benefits, you can not sign players (if needed), you can not make improvements to infrastructure, etc.

To make it easy, we will say that basically there are 3 types of Club model. The first is the one we have said. The one that Barça has today. One where those who go to the stadium, are the owners, at 100%, of everything that represents the Club.

The second model is followed by the majority of Clubs worldwide. The Club is a Corporation with an(some) owner(s). These are the ones who decide what happens in the Club. People who go to the stadium to watch the games, unless they are shareholders, they have no say over what happens in the Club.

A third model, mainly, is used in Germany. Basically, in this model, the supporters (the "socis" for Barca) are the owners of the football club. At the same time, there is a "Corporation" that is responsible for the whole theme about marketing, advertising, etc. That is, what is the "non sport" part, the Club (ie the sports part), is the majority shareholder of the "Corporation".

The key question is: Can Barça, with its current structure, maintain the same level of income/benefits thatthe other big Clubs have?

If the answer is YES, we don't need to talk anymore. Only (and already is a big job), they should seek ways to encourage higher participation of the "socis" and, at the same time, greater control over the actions of the Board. And when I say control I do not mean an agency to audit every 5 minutes what the Board is doing. At the end of the day, when it is chosen it is because it is believed to be the best prepared to do. I mean some sort of "Parliament" or whatever you want to say, to be able to say yes or no to certain specific activities (such as money invested in signings, infrastructure, etc.). It is not that, every time we buy a laptop (for example), you have to ask this body to give its approval. No. This is the day by day of the Board. It is, roughly, the general control of the big budget items.

If the answer to the question we've done before is NO, it is necessary that we think we want to be. What and how.

Being a "Corporation", like the majority of Clubs means that, those who go to the stadium, in principle, decide nothing. Now, they do not own anymore. The owners are a group of people who invest their money and as such, their first goal is to have an economic benefit. No sports. So that we understand: winning the Champions League is good for the money paid to the entity, not the sporting event. This means that you can buy and sell players based on an income statement, not the performance that may occur in the field. The big advantage for most of the current "socis" is that our money is no longer in danger. There are others who win or lose. Like any ordinary company. Because that's what Barça would become. A company like many other that manufactures cars or drinks. Like any ordinary business, there will be some sponsors who will pay money to add their trademark on the pitch. They will be those who are entitled to tickets for the big games. So they pay. On the other hand, if we like it, it's well, and if not, too. And the day they get tired of this "toy" they will leave. They will sell their shares to others. That will continue to decide what is best for their pockets. Examples include Manchester United, AC Milan, Liverpool, PSG, etc.

The second option, if not possible the actual one, is the German model. Here is a company that represents what is the "nos-sport" side. The sports Club is still owned by the "socis", and they always have the majority of shares in the Corporation. In this sense, I recommend the following article (in Spanish) by @feriurgo which explains very clearly how the system works. It has the advantages of the availability of a lot of money. The disadvantage, as in the previous case, it would no longer be all ours. Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, etc. work with this model.

There is still another option. Accepting that we can not grow with the current system and not wanting to change. This can mean that we can be many years without winning the Champions League (and perhaps not participate at it). Moreover, this also represents that the work done with at the grassroots still have to be much higher than we do now, because we will not have the necessary money or to buy great players (when needed), or pay large wages that they have. It is to stay with the current model (assuming you can not grow up with it), with all that it would mean at all levels.

In any case, the first thing to decide the one who wants to be the next President of Barça is this. Without the definition of this model, it will be difficult to decide the sports policy, which I will talk about in the next entry.

Jordi Pascual

You can follow me on Twitter: @JordiPascualP