Qatar Airways and Barcelona "should soon make their one-year extension official," according to Moisés Llorens of AS. After reaching an agreement last week, "the two parties appear willing to keep negotiating." There "is room for another deal" -- naming rights for Camp Nou "could be back on the table." Barcelona is interested because of the money and the Qataris "are interested because of the int'l exposure." The "pieces fit well, despite some Barcelona members who complain about the political system and working conditions for immigrants in Qatar." But that "seems to be another story." The impression is that the intentions "are there" and Barcelona execs feel that "it is not impossible to achieve this objective after evaluating various multinationals that have good intentions but not the economic muscle of the Arabs." The financial terms and number of years "are not yet known." In '22, Qatar will host the World Cup, and by then, "the country's exposure needs to be the best possible." The Qataris believe Barcelona is a "great window to the world" (AS, 7/18).
