this is a summary of the blog FC Barcelona 2010 where you can follow the built-up to the elections on a daily basis. the blog can also be followed through facebook and twitter. you can click on the links to read the full story. you can read all previous episodes of this weekly here.

The election for Barcelona president has an official date: Sunday, 13 June 2010.

This was announced by the club following a special meeting of its board of directors and after earlier statements by Barcelona president Joan Laporta expressing his preference for elections to be held at the end of the season.

Laporta explained that the date was chosen mainly for sporting reasons and in consultation with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola and sports director Txiki Begiristain : “In that perspective, it’s the best option. This way, the election process won’t influence the team, which is what we have been looking for. We’ve tried for the sporting interests to be affected the least possible.”

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta also earlier said that he would prefer if elections are held at the end of the season to avoid distracting the team. Barcelona skipper Carles Puyol, on his part, assured that the players will remain focused regardless of any decision taken concerning the upcoming electoral exercise.  Barcelona defender Eric Abidal, on the other hand, confirmed that the players are aware of the process, and that he personally would prefer for the current project to continue under the same people that have guided it.

Meantime, Laporta appears to have handpicked his successor in the person of Barcelona vice president Alfons Goddall, whose candidacy was officially announced on Monday, 25 January. At the press conference, which was covered live by the blog  (read more here), Godall presented his campaign slogan “+BARCA” ( More Barca ) in the presence of  supporters and friends among them, Laporta and nine members of the board, including assets vice- president Xavier Sala i Martin and vice president, Joan Boix.

In a later interview, Godall expressed relief at finally being able to take this concrete step and said that he has prepared for his decision. Godall also defended Laporta’s presence at Monday’s event, claiming Laporta was there as a friend first and only secondarily as a member of the board.

While he confirmed that the exiting Barcelona president would not be given any position in his board, Godall also said that Laporta will be offered some form of delegation that would represent the club in international bodies such as FIFA, UEFA and ECA, where he believes the Barcelona chief’s stature and influence could be put to good use.

Barcelona vice president, Joan Boix, whose role in the upcoming election is still unclear, has said that while he remains hopeful that the separate intentions of Godall and assets vice president Jaume Ferrer could be reconciled at some later point, he concedes that a united board candidacy would now be difficult.

Boix later confirmed that he will not take part in the candidacies of both  Godall and Ferrer, and that his plan is to remain until the end of Laporta’s term. He also said he would continue only if  the new Barcelona president would make an offer that he can consider and accept.

Godall, has in the meantime, been called upon to resign his board position by a member of pre-candidate Sandro Rosell’s team, Jordi Cardoner.  Reacting to statements made by Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martin at Godall’s presentation, Cardoner took exception to what he believed were verbal attacks on Rosell and asked Godall to resign his post in order to maintain equality between the candidates and neutrality of the club.

Rosell, on his part, has been quoted as saying he is skeptical of the economic situation of the club and that it is difficult to believe what the current board say. Rosell reportedly would be officially announcing his candidacy possibly on Monday, 1 February, at a gathering of young entrepreneurs where he is scheduled to speak.

Rosell’s ex-colleague, former Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano, who has yet to fully declare his intensions, apart for publicly stating that he would be taking part in the upcoming elections, has said in an interview that while he respects those who are announcing their candidacies, he believes the right moment to talk is when the elections are called.

Confirmed pre-candidates, Jaume Guixa, whose project is said to be based on giving Barcelona back to its members, has now reportedly claimed that three former players in Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team would be joining his candidacy. Guixa did not name the three players who, according to him, would replace current sport director Txiki Begiristain in his team, but he confirmed that his plan is to name one sport director each for the first team, the youth teams, and Barcelona Athlètic.

Guixa, who appears to share Rosell’s concerns about the economic situation of the club, noted in another interview that the club could be “technically bankrupt”.  He pointed out that the worst aspect had been the sale of Barcelona assets, claiming that if the club is financially sound, there would have been no need for it.

Possible candidate, Josep Maria Minguella, has meanwhile stated that because the sporting aspect of the club has met with many successes, it is the management aspect that has become a talking point in the upcoming elections. Minguella claims that the current board’s lack of transparency and consultation with club members, and notably its failure to involve club members in the broader decision making process, would be factors  that could, to a large degree, influence the campaign as well as the outcome of the election itself.

Minguella is reportedly in talks for a possible candidacy with a group led by former Barcelona player Carles Rexach and Jaume Llauradó, among others. Llaurado had confirmed in an interview that there have indeed been discussions on this point but that he believed the project would not go thru, and that he is yet to decide on what his actual participation would be.

Finally, another Catalan personality whose role in the upcoming election is much speculated on would be Evarist Murtra, to whom Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola dedicated his team’s victory  at the FIFA World Cup for Clubs in December.  Murtra, a 60 year-old textile entrepreneur who served twice in the Barcelona board (1997 and 2005 under Laporta),  is widely credited for the appointment of Pep Guardiola first, as coach of Barcelona Athletic and later, as first team manager. Murtra  left the Laporta  board following the vote of no confidence in July  2008.

With the announcement of an election date, more electoral buildup is expected in the coming days  as candidates step up their respective campaigns. La Vanguardia sports writer Sergi Pamies has, in true pundit fashion, cautioned observers and participants alike to fasten their seatbelts and prepare to live thru turbulent times : “As far as I know, the built-up to the elections consists of defending your project and, at the same time, throwing dirt on the others. Those are compatible and simultaneous activities.”

Most read post of the week:

Slogan and logo Godall candidacy revealed

Must read post of the week:

Minguella: “Laporta didn’t keep his promises”

Interesting sidenote of the week:

Three ‘Dream Team’ players in candidacy Guixa