Club statutes reforms, in detail

The Board of Directors revealed its proposal to modify Club statutes this afternoon. The proposal will be presented for ratification at the next General Assembly, which is set to take place in September of this year. In the next Board of Directors meeting, which is scheduled for July, the Board will refine the text of the proposal and then open it up for Club members to review it.

Club spokesman and secretary of the Board of Directors, Toni Freixa, explained that “we are fulfilling our electoral commitment to give Club members more participation and reinforce the democratic framework of the Club. There are reforms that take power away from the Board and others that give power and reforms that give Club members more participation.” He then said “we have incorporated issues that the Board agreed upon in 2010  and we intend for them to figure in the Club statues because they are positive.”

• Club section (basketball, handball, futsal, roller hockey, etc.) elimination shall be subject to General Assembly ratification.

• Only individuals who have been Club members for at least five years will be able to apply for season tickets, and the waiting list will be regulated.

• The Club’s ticket allotment for sponsor and institutional purposes in finals is fixed at 15%. The ticket distribution system will be changed to favour members who are older or members who often travel with the team for away matches.

• Information that’s given to voting Club members will also be made available to all members.

• Club members will have the right to review deals and agreements made by the Board of Directors and the General Assembly with the exception of confidential agreements, which would hurt the Club’s interest if made public.

• Club members will be obliged to update their information when a census is held. If a member does not update his or her information after a determined amount of time, said member could lose his or her Club member status.

• The Board of Directors will not have the sole power to name notable members, these decisions will now have to be ratified by the General Assembly.

• The position of Protector Members will be eliminated.

• There must be a quorum of two thirds of the attendees to authorize purchases, sales of material goods, or indebtedness that exceeds 20% of the budget.

• Contract concerning image rights, names, symbols or audiovisual rights that exceed five years are now subject to ratification from the Assembly.

• Naming rights for the Camp Nou and the Palau Blaugrana are subject to the ratification from the Assembly.

• The Board of Directors shall have the power to determine the FC Barcelona shirt sponsor, provided they don’t violate the Club's ethics or the historical values of the Club.

• Non-delegate Club members will have access to the name, surname and member number of delegate Club members.

• The General Assembly must coincide with an official match at the Camp Nou.

• The annual audit report will be made available to Club members prior to the General Assembly.

• The Board of Directors will serve a six-year term.

• Among the current voting methods employed at the General Assembly, one will be added: electronic voting.

• The ethics code, approved by the Board of the Directors, which includes a Control and Transparency Commission, will be incorporated into Club statutes.

• The electoral census will be made available to all presidential candidates.

• Electoral campaigns may hold press conferences and distribute promotional material after the appropriate number of signatures has been reached and the candidacy is official.

• Motions of censure shall require a quorum of 15% of Club members or 50% of delegate members.

• The Senate shall meet once a year.

• There shall be a limit to the amount of debt the Club can incur. The Board of Directors shall not engage in accounts that exceed the maximum level of debt – which has not been set as of yet and will be linked to the EBITDA. If the debt levels exceed the debt ceiling, the acting Board of Directors will have two years to rectify the situation. Unsuccessful attempts will result in the early termination of the Board.

• Attempts to resell season tickets or tickets shall be counted as an infraction.

• Reports filed by stadium security during home matches will be presumed to be true.