Menu
Franchises

Barcelona's Talks With Qatar Airways To Continue; Members Approve '15-16 Budget

In his address to Barcelona's supporters at the club's General Assembly, President Josep Maria Bartomeu "sought to assure the Catalan club's faithful that the relationship with current shirt sponsors, Qatar Airways, has not come to an end," according to MARCA. He said, "We have agreed to continue our negotiations with Qatar Airways. We now have a bit more time. The dialogue with Qatar is ongoing, and there is a clear willingness from both sides. We're happy with the deal that has been in place for the last few years. The negotiations will continue, as we seek to reach the agreement which we are both deserving of. Please don't worry, because we certainly are not" (MARCA, 10/25). MARCA reported in a separate piece the budget for the '15-16 season, presented by Barcelona's board, "has been met with majority approval by the club's members." Some 655 of the delegates voted in favor, while just 54 voted against and 49 members left their ballots blank. The budget forecasts that the club will generate a 4% increase in income, which, if achieved, would represent an all-time high of €633M ($704M) (MARCA, 10/25).

FIGHTING WORDS: MARCA reported in a separate piece Barcelona is "on the warpath" in relation to the fine UEFA has given the club because of the presence of Catalan flags during the Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen at the Camp Nou. Bartomeu said, "The time has come to say enough is enough. UEFA's sanction is an attack on our members' freedom of expression and is based on a rule that is absurd and an anachronism in this day and age. They have turned what is an expression of personal feelings into a political statement. UEFA have got themselves into a mess by punishing something that is not a crime in Spain. The senyera is not outlawed anywhere." Bartomeu also revealed that the club did not appeal against the previous sanction after Catalan flags were waved at the Champions League final in Berlin because the board "wanted to try to resolve matters with UEFA diplomatically." Now the club will be defending itself "via every available legal avenue" (MARCA, 10/25).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2015/10/26/Franchises/Barcelona.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2015/10/26/Franchises/Barcelona.aspx

CLOSE