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A crowd of spectators in an open-air stadium, a mosiac in red, blue and gold is visible
Barcelona supporters during a match at Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona is a professional multi-sports club[1][2] based in Barcelona, formed in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German and English footballers led by Joan Gamper. It has been part of the Spanish top-flight, La Liga, since the league's inception in 1928, winning it 27 times, along with a record 31 Copa del Rey and 5 UEFA Champions League victories.

The arrival of Ronaldinho in 2003, and Barcelona's subsequent success in La Liga and Champions League, has been seen as crucial to an increase in the national, and worldwide, fan-base of the club. This development of a larger national fan-base has created friction between the Catalan nationalist supporters, who wish to secede from Spain, and the club's other Spanish supporters.

There are four different type of supporters of Barcelona; one is the soci or club-member, who is eligible to vote in the presidential election of the club and other matters. The penyes, who are closely affiliated with the socis, are fan-clubs, which in the past have been responsible for large donations to the club. Also, there are Barça Fans and this term refers to the official online fan community of the club where these registered fans participate in games and other activities. Lastly there are the ordinary fans of the club, the culers, who do not possess any formal membership.

Culers

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The nickname culer for a Barcelona supporter is derived from the Catalan cul (English: arse). Before 1909, Barcelona played in various stadiums, none of which were owned by the club. On 14 March 1909, the club moved to the Camp de la Indústria which had a capacity of 6,000 people, and it was the first ground owned by the club. Barcelona moved to Les Corts in 1922, which had an initial capacity of 20,000, which was later enlarged 3-fold to 60,000. The top-row of Les Corts was the origin of the nickname culer, derived from the Catalan cul (English: arse), as the spectators at the first stadium, Camp de la Indústria, sat with their culs over the stand. The English author, Phil Ball, notes that "all you could see was row upon row of bums".[3]

Socis

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Isolated football player on the pitch, wearing the number 10 jersey. Vaguely smiling.
Ronaldinho has been credited for the global rise in supporters during his time at the club.

In 1975, the death of Franco marked the beginning of Spain's transition into a democracy and four years later, Josep Lluís Núñez became the first elected president of FC Barcelona. Since then, the members of Barcelona, called socis, have elected a club president.[4][5]

The club's membership figures have seen a significant increase from 100,000 in the 2003–04 season to 170,000 in September 2009,[6] the sharp rise being attributed to the influence of Ronaldinho and then-president Joan Laporta's media strategy that focused on Spanish and English online media.[7][8] In the presidential election of 2010, the rise in club-members during the last seven years caused the campaign to focus on whether to allow votes from non-Catalan members, through internet or post. The balloting committee decided to only allow votes from members who registered at the home stadium on the day of the election.[9] As of 31 May 2023, the club has 150,317 memberships, called socis.[10]

Socis have existed since the early days of the club, with statutes in 1902 and 1911 saying that only men could be full members. The club still had female fans, among them Edelmira Calvetó, who wanted to become a soci; having been turned down several times, she persisted, being granted the membership number 86 on 1 January 1913. By the time of the next statutes in 1921, socis were described in gender neutral terms.[11][12][13] Barcelona was the first Spanish club to admit female members.[14]

Penyes

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In the mid-1940s, the club invented the notion of penyes, a mix between a fan club and a financial support club, during a time when the club was in need of financial and public support in face of the hostility of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship. The first Penya Solera, was formed in 1944 by a group of supporters and former players of the team.[15] The penyes would later exhibit their financial prowess in 1953, when they proposed the building of the Camp Nou. Inspiration was drawn from the financial plan Athletic Bilbao, a rival team, used to build San Mamés stadium, where an association of penyes pledged to finance the construction. As a result, the subsequent construction of the stadium put the club into its supporters' hands, giving the penyes political influence over the club, which still lasts today.[16]

In the early 1980s, one of the most notorious penyes, the Boixos Nois (English: Crazy Boys) was founded.[17] The peña who identified with left-wing independentism, repeatedly demanded the resignation of president Núñez, openly defying his presidency through chants and banners at matches. At the same time, the city of Barcelona experienced a rise in the number of skinheads, who identified with right-wing separatism. The skinheads slowly moved the Boixos Nois' political ideology from liberalism to fascism, which caused fractions within the group.[18] Inspired by British hooligans, the remaining Boixos Nois became violent, which often lead to mass-scale arrests.[19]

According to the protest organisation L'Elephant Blau (English: The Blue Elephant), formed in part by later-president Joan Laporta in 1998, the former president Núñez promoted the emergence of skinheads among the Boixos and gave them permission to roam freely around the stadium, using them for his own political gain.[20] When Núñez resigned in 2000, his vice-president Joan Gaspart took over as president. Gaspart publicly expressed his sympathies for Boixos Nois, claiming that he would join the group as soon as he resigned as chairman. The comment caused the Boixos Nois members to occasionally be referred to as 'the chairman's boys'.[21]

Barcelona supporters

The same year saw the controversial transfer of the Barcelona vice-captain Luís Figo to arch-rivals Real Madrid. When Figo returned to the Camp Nou with his new club in November 2002, the Boixos responded to Figo's perceived treachery by whistling and jeering whenever he went near the ball. The abuse peaked when the Boixos threw a severed pig's head at him, while he was taking a corner. The match has since been known in Spain as the "Partido de la Vergüenza" (English: The Game of Shame). It was suspended for 13 minutes by the referee, who took the players off the pitch because of fears for their safety. It ended in a 0–0 draw.[22][23][24]

As of 2022 there are 1,264 officially registered fan clubs, called penyes, around the world.[25] The fan clubs promote Barcelona in their locality and receive beneficial offers when visiting Barcelona.[26]

FC Barcelona membership cards (1899–2000)

Fan base

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In Spain, about 25% of the population is said to be Barça sympathisers, second behind Real Madrid, supported by 32% of the population.[27] Throughout Europe, Barcelona is the favourite second-choice club.[28] Among the best supported teams globally, Barcelona has the second highest social media following in the world among sports teams, with over 103 million Facebook fans as of December 2021, only behind Real Madrid with 111 million.[29][30]

During the 1940s and 50s, Franco's oppression of Catalonia caused the relationship between the club and its supporters to change. For the supporters, FC Barcelona became synonymous with Catalonia, a feeling incorporated in the club's Més que un club motto (English: More than a club). The socio-political impulse Visca el Barça (Long live Barça), gradually evolved into Visca el Barça i visca Catalunya (Long live Barça and Catalonia) and was the same as a protest-song against the fascist government in Madrid.[31] Outside Catalonia, FC Barcelona has also been seen as being Més que un club (Más que un club) for many forward-thinking Spaniards. It was the left-wing intellectuals that become Barça supporters in recognition of its role in defending democratic rights and freedom.[32]

During the first decade of the new millennium, president Joan Laporta, a supporter of Catalan nationalism, repeatedly expressed his support of Catalonia's secession from Spain and characterised the club as the symbol for Catalan separatism. The politicization of the club drew criticism from several club members who accused Laporta of alienating Barcelona fans, both within and outside of Catalunya.[33][34] By 2003 Barcelona had 1,200 penyes around the world, causing other Spanish clubs to copy the concept. With each individual peña (Castillian Spanish spelling) having different names and rules, it has become a custom in Spain to name a new peña after their favourite player or match, and in turn the player usually attends to the inaugural supper.[15]

Bed of a young FC Barcelona fan

The club has had many prominent people among its supporters, including Pope John Paul II, who was an honorary member, and former prime minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.[35][36]

References

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Bibliography
  • Ball, Phill (2003). Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football. WSC Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-9540134-6-2.
  • Chadwick, Simon; Arthur, Dave (2007). International cases in the business of sport. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-8543-6.
  • Fisk, Peter (2008). Business Genius: A More Inspired Approach to Business Growth. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-1-84112-790-3.
  • Spaaij, Ramón (2006). Understanding football hooliganism: a comparison of six Western European football clubs. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 978-90-5629-445-8.
  1. ^ "FC BARCELONA STATUTES (23 October 2021)" (PDF). FC Barcelona. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Laporta: 'Barça is the greatest multi-sports club in the world'". FC Barcelona. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  3. ^ Ball, Phil. p. 111. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "History part IV". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  5. ^ Ball, Phil p. 85
  6. ^ Aznar, Víctor (19 September 2009). "El FC Barcelona ya tiene 170.000 socios". Sport (in Spanish). Madrid. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  7. ^ Fisk, Peter. pp. 201–202.
  8. ^ Brott, Steffen. p. 77.
  9. ^ Sharma, Ashish (12 June 2010). "Spanish Inquisition: FC Barcelona Prepare for a New Future - Rosell, Ingla, Ferrer Or Benedito". Goal.com. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  10. ^ "Xavi's son becomes FC Barcelona member". FC Barcelona. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  11. ^ "La pionera que va marcar el camí" [The pioneer who paved the way]. www.fcbarcelona.cat (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Edelmira Calvetó, la primera socia del Barça" [Edelmira Calvetó, the first member of Barça]. www.lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). 23 January 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Cien años de la admisión de la primera socia del Barça Edelmira Calvetó" [One hundred years since the admission of Barça's first member Edelmira Calvetó]. www.fcbarcelona.cat (in Spanish). 5 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  14. ^ "99 años de la mujer en el Sporting" [99 years of women in Sporting]. migijon.com (in Spanish). 23 September 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b Ball, Phil. pp. 110-111
  16. ^ Ball, Phil. p. 111-112
  17. ^ Ball, Phil p.112
  18. ^ Spaaij, Ramón p. 291-292
  19. ^ Spaaij, Ramón p. 293
  20. ^ King, Anthony p. 242
  21. ^ Spaaij, Ramon p. 304
  22. ^ Edworthy, Sarah (25 November 2002). "Running gauntlet of hate in Spain's gran clasico". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  23. ^ Ball, Phil (24 November 2003). "The Year of the Pig". ESPN. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  24. ^ Shields, Tom (6 December 2003). "Catalans steel themselves for the worst; Defeat tonight will cap a truly horrific seven days". The Herald. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  25. ^ "Two new supporters' clubs join the Blaugrana family". FC Barcelona. 16 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Penyes". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  27. ^ "Ficha Técnica" (PDF) (in Spanish). Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. May 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  28. ^ Chadwick, Simon; Arthur, Dave. pp. 4–5.
  29. ^ "Barça, the most loved club in the world" Archived 14 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Marca. Madrid. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Facebook Fan Pages" Archived 9 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Fanpagelist.com. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  31. ^ Farred, Grant pp. 88-90
  32. ^ FC Barcelona. "A historic slogan". FCBarcelona.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  33. ^ Malek, Cyrus C. (1 July 2010). "Spanish Inquisition: What legacy does Laporta leave at Barcelona?". Goal.com. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  34. ^ Shobe, Hunter (2008). "Football and the politics of place: Football Club Barcelona and Catalonia, 1975-2005". Journal of Cultural Geography. 25 (1): 87–105. doi:10.1080/08873630701822661. S2CID 143046098.
  35. ^ Goff, Steven (29 July 2003). "Barça Isn't Lounging Around; Storied Catalonian Club Plots Its Return to the Top". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  36. ^ "Spain's football team welcomed by royals". The New Nation. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
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