FC Barcelona’s office in New York was the venue on Wednesday for a meeting between some sixty former ESADE business school students, including Gerard Guiu, the FCB director of institutional relations in NYC, former player Raúl González, country manager of LaLiga in the United States, Emilio García Duarte, marketing manager of NBA Latin America, and Alfonso Mondelo, technical director of MLS (Major League Soccer) to discuss future strategies and business models of the four institutions.
Guiu spoke about how being ‘more than a club’ “is the best possible differentiation for a team that has its own Foundation and represents the club’s soul” and also about the reasons why the club sees such potential in having an American headquarters.
Raúl González discussed the economic feasibility of a European football league, while Emilio García Duarte described how the NBA uses the nationality of its many foreign imports to broaden the league’s appeal around the world.
And Alfonso Mondelo spoke about what the MLS is doing to boost player development in the US, and also the efforts being made to improve match attendances.
