This is a summary of the blog FC Barcelona 2010 where you can follow the build-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 also read previous episodes of this weekly here.

The process of electing the next president of FC Barcelona has entered its final week with the four candidates – Jaume Ferrer, Sandro Rosell, Marc Ingla, and Agusti Benedito – expected to take part in a series of debates organised by the Catalan media.

The first presidential debate, which was covered live by the blog, took place on Tuesday, and will have its follow up event today, June 10,  at 22:30, under the sponsorship of Catalan television channel 8tv.

The campaign period will wrap up on Saturday, June 11, followed by a day of reflection on June 12 during which no election related activities will be allowed, and will culminate in the holding of the final vote on Sunday, 13 June, at the Camp Nou grounds.

Rosell under fire

Recent opinion polls would indicate that former Bracelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell remains the “favorite” candidate, although his numbers would have gone down significantly on account of controversies hounding his campaign, the latest of which linked  him to a corruption case being investigated in Brazil.

Sources have claimed that one of Rosell’s companies is under investigation for alleged irregularities in the staging of a Brazil-Portugal friendly sometime in 2008.

More specifically, former Barcelona press officer Jordi Badia had written on his blog that the contract for the event, which was worth 9 million euro, was awarded to a company reportedly owned by Rosell, and that Brazilian public prosecutors have recently started proceedings against several government officials and Rosell’s company for possible fraud and violations of public bidding procedures.

Reports have it that, aside from the Brazilian company, two other firms that received payments under the contract were also owned by Rosell – one is  based in the Cayman Islands, which reportedly owned the rights to the Brazil team, and a Barcelona company, Bonus Marketing, which held the rights to the Portugal team.

In defence, Rosell claims that his company is not part of the investigation and that he was only invited to give information on the deal. Nevertheless, he believes it is good to be talked about and appears unconcerned about the issue: “I expected some rumours or some little lies but it seems people have invested quite a bit of money in investigations. But I guess in the end it’s good people talk about you, for good or for bad.”

Fellow candidate Marc Ingla has countered that Rosell is being less than truthful: “We have a note from a Brazilian law firm that confirms that a company of Sandro Rosell is involved in a judicial investigation for possible fraud, so in this case Sandro Rosell has been and is lying.”

Plans to regulate club membership

Two candidates reportedly plans to restrict club membership and will put a stop to the unlimited growth of members.

Agusti Benedito wants to introduce the concept of “associates” and “barcelonistas”, explaining that instead of going for traditional club membership, fans and supporters would now have two other ways of being linked to the club but without the right to vote. Associates would refer to local fans who would be given tangible economic and other benefits, while barcelonistas would be reserved for foreign fans.

The camp of Sandro Rosell, on the hand, proposes that fans be given a period of time to become members and thereafter, only persons with certain qualifications will be accepted as members.

Jordi Cardoner, who will be Rosell’s director for the social area, explained that the policy of unlimited membership promoted by the current board is “not socially correct” and should be stopped: “What we will do is announce a period of three months during which everyone who isn’t yet a member can make the decision of becoming it. After that period, only two groups could become a member: family members in the first or second degree of a member, or children who would be given the chance to grow up with the club.”

The Boixois Nois factor

Rosell’s candidacy is also being  linked to the radical Barcelona fan group, Boixois Nois, after reports circulated that he has been talking with some elements of the group.

Board candidate Jaume Ferrer has called out Rosell for consorting with a group that has been banned by Barcelona president Joan Laporta since the early years of his presidency: “You have to stand up to the hooligans and not make pictures with them, as some have been doing.”

Candidate Agusti Benedito also confirmed that he received reports about a particular Camp Nou incident: “They’ve told me that during the last league game at the Camp Nou, key members of the Boixos Nois were distributing propaganda for Sandro Rosell.”

Pre-candidate Alexis Plaza, who failed the signatures cut but hopes to run again in 2022, likewise revealed he was informed that Rosell had met some members of the Boixois Nois: “We have been informed by people from other groups that they all sat together to talk. This is not necesarily a bad thing as there are people that identify themselves as Boixos Nois but are against violence.”

Koeman could be named sports director

According to reports, Rosell could be considering  former Barcelona player Ronald Koeman as replacement for current Barcelona sports director  Txiki Begiristain and would have already sounded out the former manager of Dutch club AZ for this purpose.

Jaume Ferrer, on the other hand, said he would keep Begiristain, as well as Barcelona youth director Jose Ramon Alexanko and first team manager Pep Guardiola, claiming nothing would change much in the sports area under his presidency.

Barcelona youth director and former player Guillermo Amor meantime said he is supporting the candidacy of Rosell, while Barcelona midfied maestro Xavi Hernandez said he has a favorite candidate which he will not reveal and claims he would ask whoever wins to “leave Guardiola alone so he can do his job and that he assures the continuity of the current sports model.”

Guardiola’s plans

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola may have publicly announced that he would sign for another season with the Catalan club, but Inter Milan reportedly think they have a chance to sign the coach as a replacement for Jose Mourinho if Rosell wins the presidency, believing that there is, supposedly, a  lack of feeling between the Barcelona coach and the presidential candidate.

According to reports, Guardiola plans to talk with the new president after the June 13 elections to personally learn about his future plans for the sports area, and who would be chosen as sports director, among other things.

Quote of the week:

One who accurately represents the club, a team player, with experienced people, but also picking up fresh ideas from new board members and, finally, a very quiet president.

- Marc Ingla, on what kind of president he wants to be

Most read post of the week:

Rosell has concrete plan to limit club members

Must read post of the week:

Ingla: “I will be a very quiet president”

Interesting sidenote of the week:

Xavi has a favourite candidate in the elections