Laporta’s Era is almost gone. Regardless of all the controversy, there is no doubt that the club was subject to a radical transition on all aspects. The team success, added to the revolutionary development of Media coverage, Internet growth, and sport’s marketing progress, introduced Barcelona to a massive number of football fans across the globe. That’s always good news as it creates opportunities. Yet, for a club like Barcelona, it is also a challenge.

 Wind of – global – change

For Barcelona fans outside Catalonia, there is a common question that rewinds itself every once and while: “Is it the right time to become a member?”. This question was ringing in my mind for over fifteen years already, since a social activist culé told me the story of Barcelona, the club, the city, and the nation it represents. Tell that story to any teenager, and you create a dedicated Barca fan. No doubt. Yet, during that period of time the club was not open enough to the fans outside the Catalan boarders. Non-Catalan fans were treated more as second class fans, or outsiders. Too much for the personal ego to accept. 

Then, the club had that dramatic change. Suddenly, everything sounded different. New board. New coach (well, that was not something we were not used to already…). New players. But most importantly, a new strategy that promoted the club for being more than a club. The reasons why I became a fan turned out to be the slogans stamped on the Club’s banners and the words sung by each and every board member, coach, and player. With all the non-Catalan fans getting more and more interested in club membership, there was a need to invest the club’s success and fame to represent and promote good causes that are not just related to Catalan history but also concur with human values (and ultimately will promote the Catalan cause). 

At the end of the day, the image of any club is not only what the history brings, but what the present demonstrates for the future.The material was there. The history of struggling against unfairness. The sacrifices made to protect the national identity against a more dominating force. Freedom of speech. And the living proof that you can’t bury what’s right under the smoke of the guns. Nor can you drown it in its own blood. That’s a global case represented by a specific nation. It was a great opportunity to elect that nation, through its successful club, to represent those values and people around the world who share such beliefs. There is a thin line between politics, something the club must not get involved in, and human values that any organization must not shy away from supporting whenever possible. In fact, this is a leading method in business marketing nowadays. It is applied all over the world. Then there was the UNICEF agreement, and players like Iniesta, Xavi, and Messi who fit perfectly the profile needed to serve the cause. Football is no more about only kicking that round thing toward that net over there with eleven fully fit men trying to prevent that at all cost. It’s now the method of promoting hope; inspiring youth all over the world and creating new idols to imitate, other than the drug dealers and gangsters across the streets in impoverished lands. Showing the youth another way to get recognized through buying a ball rather than a gun. FC Barcelona, because of its ‘beyond football’ culture, was the right club to lead this challenge. Being more than a club means an unquestionable dedication in that direction. And there were football fans all over the world excited to embrace that approach by supporting not only the attractive football performed on the field but also the mission statement behind the club’s identity.

Wind of – global – challenge

Was it the right time for me to become a member? That was not my biggest concern. After following the English premier league clubs standing in a row with their price tags stamped on their foreheads waiting for the highest bidder to sell their souls, I suffered a panic attack. Theoretically, it’s not impossible that Barcelona could end up suffering the same fate. It’s almost impossible, but any multinational company owner can make all his employees register as members, invest some money to convince some other members and here you go, another broker from nowhere is a favorite candidate to become the new president of FC Barcelona. Another broker may take advantage of a massive number of members in his country and lead a national campaign to hijack the club through elections. People may protest, Catalans may revolt, but 1) The existing regulations of any firm dictate legal commitments that go beyond any change of public opinion. 2) It will create a chaos regardless of how it will end. I support the suggestion that we must not wait till it happens.

All of a sudden, this non-Catalan fan based structure of the club started to become a tricky case to resolve, as far as it will is a great method to be proud of. The global presence of the club is a necessity – in my opinion. Yet the Catalan impact must not dissolve in the massive popularity and global membership tsunami. The same Catalan members that resisted all the temptations to put a sponsor on the shirt for decades, regardless of all the bad times the club passed through (which proved the right decision afterward), must be there to create that extra immunity shield to keep the club on the right track all the time.

At the same time, it’s unacceptable to discriminate between the fans based on race, nationality, or ethnicity. I was looking forward to the election candidates’ propositions in that matter. For me, that’s one of the key issues the new board need to tackle. The feedback was not only awfully disappointing, it was naïve, unrealistic, and insulting!

The identity chaos!

The elections candidates are terrified that more Barcelona fans are seeking membership. One of the lame arguments is that the number of members must not exceed the number of seats because every member has the right to watch the games at the Camp Nou. As if the Camp Nou is packed game in game out. And even if 120,000 fans are camping there, all day and night, does it mean that we stop accepting new members or expand the stadium? Just a hypothetical scheme countering a hypothetical statement. You don’t kill your new child because there aren’t enough beds at home, what about buying a new bed instead? What if the club membership matched the stadium capacity, then a new Catalan was born; do we cancel the membership of one of those non-Catalans to spare a space for the new “pure” Culé? A sarcastic remark countering an ironic argument.

 That’s not the true reason, that’s just an excuse. The serious concern is the threat that the global fans may affect the club’s identity passively. That’s valid. Yet, we -or the Catalans between us, Barca fans- must decide what kind of Barcelona they want for the future? If it’s a club for Catalonia and Catalan fans, A.K.A another Athletic Bilbao model, the club must customize its structure likewise. Close each and every non-Catalan penya and reconsider merchandising markets. The financial return may decline, but so will the costs because the club will not take the option of signing the likes of Alves, Abidal, Yaya, Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto’o, Ibra, Messi, Iniesta… The objective of representing Catalonia will bring even more pride to the club’s Catalan fans than winning titles.

If FC Barcelona is still the club we all support, a Catalan Club with a global community, then hold on there, Mr. Candidate! What started as vague whispers, ended up becoming a daily loaf in every candidate’s speech. Knowing that Sandro Rosell is the favorite to become the club’s leader, representative and new prophet, it’s valid to take his words more critically than the rest. It was a spark of lunacy to say:

“We have already 3.000-4.000 Japanese club members, which is good but one day we could have 50.000. Or 50.000 Chinese or 50.000 Russians, it’s the same. And those 50.000 Russians could one day decide that the president of Barça would be a Russian. He should have his legal residence in Catalonia, but that’s easy.”

 As long as the presidental candidate is a true Barça fan who understands the club values and culture, where is the problem if he was Russian, Chinese, or Lionel Messi? When we talk about “Identity”, are we talking about the Club’s -Catalan – culture and values or Catalan blood? Saying so, Mr. Candidate didn’t only neglect the club’s history (the club exists thanks to a Swiss), but also sent a wrong message for the future.

According to Mr. Rosell, Raul Tamudo is a more valid candidate to become Barcelona’s president than Andres Iniesta. It’s easier to pay some money to become a member than changing your blood. Why are you -Mr. Candidate- so terrified of diversities and so obsessed with ethnic purity as the only way to reserve pride? While defending the “Identity”, aren’t you getting closer to everything this Identity fought against and suffered from for ages? It’s like defending the identity by reshaping it to what counters its nature. 

Roadmap for the future

Protecting the club’s identity must not be seen as a Catalan vs. non-Catalan issue, from an ethnic perspective. This club is a Catalan child. Nothing will change that. No one who has any compassion toward the club will let that happen. Fans around the world spread their arms to the child, creating endless future opportunities to grow and develop. They embraced its motto and the culture -and nation- behind it. They created an engagement between its historical -local- values inspired by its past, and the global human values that can help create a better future for human kind. But they never -for a moment- forgot that this is still a Catalan child. If there is someone who can serve as a demonstration, it’s Lionel Messi. The Argentinean -football wise- owes the Catalan community through its club more than he owes his home country for the great player he became. But make no mistake; he is still an Argentinean as far as he can be.

FC Barcelona is a global club now. Its identity must recognize that, and must be reserved per se. We are all aware that the club must be protected from opportunistic gamblers, whether they are Catalan or not. When there is a will, there is a way. There are definitely better means than shutting down all the doors and burning all the bridges between the fans and the club. I may not be an expert, but I am sure if the club creates a qualification round for the candidates before the presidential elections, it will solve the problem once and for all. In round one, all the candidates need to get a nominal percentage of CATALAN votes to survive till the second round where the presidential elections take place.

This will make the Catalan members serve as the Knights of the Temple, making it impossible for the Abramovichs, Shinawatras, Gilletts and Hickses to hack the club, but will keep the door opened for the Iniestas, Messis and all the members who prove they can lead the club to more success whether they are Russian, Chinese, or …Swiss.

That will protect the club from the global threat, but still there will be a threat of over-politicizing the club, driven by temporary national fever that will lead to regret afterward. Catalan-ic  fever can lead to mess sometimes. That’s where non-Catalan fans contribute in the first qualification stage with the right of Veto. Each non-Catalan fan will have one Vote to place against one of the candidates. The candidate who collects the highest number of Vetoes (over a minimal percentage) should be disqualified for the following round. This way the final candidates will be the options approved by the Catalan community (protecting the club’s identity). At the same time, none of them will be aggressively rejected by the fans across the globe (which opposes the club’s interest and the global face of the identity coin).

In the second stage all the fans, Catalans and non-Catalans, can safely vote for the following president with no concerns. If needed, similar arrangements could be made for the most crucial decisions depending on their nature.

With that huge concern being terminated, the club must focus on an unquestionable campaign to enhance the fans’ involvement in the club’s orbit. There will be no anxiety if the /add any nationality/ club members became 50,000 or even more. That’s a gift. Remember the stadium capacity excuse? Having 50,000 Russian, 50,000 Chinese, 50,000 Japanese members means that Barca can select the matches where predictions do not expect massive attendance and announce that: “Week 3, Liga game against YYY will be the Russian Culé week”. Russian penyes can work on special flight + accommodation packages to Barcelona. They come in numbers to the stadium to honor the club that dedicated a specific week for them, to create a carnival in the stadium that merge the Catalan/Barcelona inputs with their own flavors, being Russian culés. Another week for Chinese Culés, Japanese Culés, etc… Bringing the fans from all over the world in numbers to support the team will not only increase attendance but will also create a positive economic cycle for the City throughout the season (which is not the peak months of tourism in Barcelona).

The club must put no boundaries while trying to convert fans to members, even if it meant stitching the members’ names within the official kit fabrics. This is the fans’ club after all. Penyes all over the world might be encouraged to communicate and enhance the fans’ PR, based on interest. The club -through a specific office- can generate franchising opportunities for Catalan firms by taking advantage of the club Penyes effort across the world in its respective markets. That will also include promoting theater, music, and art in general. The potentials are huge. The return for Catalans will be remarkable. The output regarding loyalty, commitment and dedication toward the club will have no second. The benefits the fans across the world will gain would be immense.

The identity dilemma is neither a Catalan product nor a unique feature for FC Barcelona. Globalization raised this quandary all over the world. Different communities felt they are threatened in their language, culture, religion, or belonging. For some, it leads them to adapt to the challenge by modernizing their unique features and stamping it on the global face of the future as their trademark contribution to the world. Others panic and resist the change. A battle that was never won before and never will. It’s a matter of choice.

As for FC Barcelona, it’s the time to decide either to open all the windows and doors for the fresh breeze and the sun, or to lock its soul in the narrow cages of the dark ages.