Fantastic party atmosphere at the Spotify Camp Nou
A great FC Barcelona celebration this morning at the Spotify Camp Nou. The Stadium played host to a party atmosphere in the stands this morning, with 15,324 culers enjoying the traditional open doors training session organised by the FC Barcelona Foundation.
Many children attended the stadium, making use of the Christmas holidays to visit the hallowed ground and enjoy their idols up close. The first and second tiers of the Spotify Camp Nou main stand, plus the first tier of the lateral stand, filled with fans who simply couldn't miss witnessing the Barça stars training first hand.
Fans in full flow
The stands were full of culers wearing their Barça jerseys as befitted the occasion, and they really enjoyed seeing goals scored by Lewandowski, skills by Dembélé and Raphinha, and Ter Stegen making saves. Players like Gavi and Pedri were also warmly welcomed, with many children chanting their names and holding up numerous banners of support for the young Barça stars.
The session ended with the players throwing balls into the crowd and waving to the children who chanted their names with such passion. Some players, like Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Eric Garcia, had photos taken with fans, who will have that moment to cherish from a very special day.
A charity tradition
Let's not forget that all the earnings from the tickets for the training session will go to help the FC Barcelona Foundation Robots Project, part of the Child Emotional Well-being Programme. The programme enables hospitalised children and people in vulnerable situations who cannot travel to the FC Barcelona facilities to enjoy the “Barça” experience via robots that interact via audio and video. Robots Pol and Joyce were front and centre on the pitch to facilitate the interaction. The names of both robots pay tribute to both a boy and a girl who passed away from cancer after having been involved in the Foundation's projects during their illness.
First team squad players are set to visit children in hospital in different hospital around Barcelona after the training session. As such, the hospitalised children will also be able to enjoy meeting their idols and experience a wonderfully thrilling day. This Club tradition is back after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Second workout of the year
Every available first team squad player attended the training session, the second of the new year, after the draw against Espanyol on Saturday (1-1). Next up for Xavi Hernández and the squad is the last 32 Copa del Rey game on Wednesday in Alicante against Intercity, with a place in the next round the target.
