After the message of support for Ukraine issued by President Joan Laporta on March 4, the FC Barcelona Foundation set to work and for the last two weeks has been liaising with the Red Cross and has been in permanent contact with the Government of Catalonia and the Ukrainian Consulate in Barcelona to provide support to all Ukrainian families that have been forced to leave their country and have been arriving in Catalonia. A number of actions have been put in place to ensure that these people receive effective assistance.

One of the first actions was the installation at the Camp Nou of three collection marquees for equipment that mothers arriving with children might need. These will be open at different points of the ground on March 28, 29 and 30, around the time of the Women’s Champions League quarter final, where a capacity crowd is expected and fans are encouraged to bring their donations. The marquees will open again on the weekend of April 2 and 3 for everyone attending games in the Palau Blaugrana and the football match against Sevilla.

A team of Red Cross and FC Barcelona volunteers will be overseeing the collection, and the items will then be transferred to the Humanitarian Centre at Sant Martí de Tous (Anoia), where they will be delivered to Ukrainian and other families at high risk that are in the organisation’s care.

FC Barcelona and its foundation have been working on similar projects for years in benefit of at-risk children and families in Catalonia.

According to the Red Cross, the most necessary articles are as follows:

  • Powdered baby milk
  • Powdered baby cereals
  • Baby food (fruit, vegetables, chicken, fish, etc.)
  • Children’s snacks and biscuits
  • Fruit juice

On Red Cross advice, the Foundation insists that these products are the ones that are most needed, and not others, in order to cater for the needs of the young children arriving in Catalonia.

Financial support is always very necessary in humanitarian crises like these, but it should be sent to organisations with the right experience of such operations. We therefore advise all donations to be made to the Red Cross via the following link:

  • Bizum: al 03282
  • Web: www.creuroja.org
  • Freephone: 900 104 971
  • Bank accounts: Banc Santander:
    ES58 0049 1806 9022 1208 3714
    La Caixa: ES47 2100 5000 5102 0006 8140

The club is also donating its sports materials and branded items to families with children.

Hosting families in Catalonia

The FC Barcelona Foundation is working with the Government of Catalonia so that in the coming weeks it can inform anyone interested about what they can do to host refugee families on a community, family or organisational level.

An awareness programme is being put in place to find places for the thousands of families to stay, numbers which are set to rise in the coming days. This will especially focus on the club’s members, supporters clubs and fans in general.

It is also coordinating all the support that it is receiving from suppliers, sponsors, members, companies and private parties who want to do something to help refugee families.

Sport and social programmes

The FC Barcelona Foundation has extensive experience of working with refugees, and will also be organising a series of social, sporting and educational activities for young Ukrainians being hosted in Catalonia. A team of club members and volunteers is being assembled to carry these actions out, the goal being to provide emotional support and foster physical activity and sport among young people who are suffering from major emotional stress. They will also receive language support so they can use Spanish and Catalan to integrate better while in this situation.

Statement by Dr Marta Segú, director general of FC Barcelona Foundation

"FC Barcelona and its Foundation have been working from the first moment on finding the most effective way to help the Ukrainian refugees. We have been in permanent contact with organisations that specialise in humanitarian aid and who understand the current situation, and have also been in contact with the Ukrainian authorities in Catalonia to make sure that our aid is as effective as possible by channelling it through the Red Cross, with which we work regularly, and which has the required infrastructure in terms of logistics and equipment to offer the soundest assistance to the Ukrainian population arriving in Catalonia, who are now in their thousands and who need all our support."

"FC Barcelona’s solidarity, which we channel through our Foundation, has to be responsible and has to reach the people in need as best as possible. Therefore, we are working closely with the people arriving in Catalonia, and especially mothers with small children. We shall continue to develop new programmes to support the Ukrainian population in such difficult times.”

Statement by Josep Quitet, president of Red Cross Catalonia

"The Red Cross has a long-standing partnership with FC Barcelona and its Foundation, which has always been ready to help in emergency and humanitarian crisis situations, like this one with Ukraine. For the last two years, we have been working on a series of awareness actions focused mainly on child members of the refugee population in our country.

With this new commitment, FC Barcelona and its Foundation, together with all the fans, are once again standing beside the Red Cross to offer shelter to the Ukrainian people who have arrived in Catalonia."

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