FC Barcelona presidential elections on March 20 and 21

Following its ordinary session today Thursday, the FC Barcelona Board of Directors hereby announces the following:

Date for elections to the FC Barcelona Presidency

The Board of Directors, pursuant to the agreement made at a meeting last August 17, has convened the next elections for the club presidency for 20 and 21 March 2021, coinciding with the first weekend immediately after the start of the period set by the club statutes for the holding of the said elections. Given the extraordinary circumstances derived from the Covid-19 pandemic and in order to safeguard everyone’s health and encourage participation, the Board has decided that these elections can be hold throughout the whole weekend and at various sites around the territory, and that postal votes shall be permitted.

Ordinary General Assembly of Delegate Members

The Ordinary General Assembly of Delegate Members has been set for October 25 on the occasion of the game with Real Madrid CF, and always pursuant to the recommendations of the Government of Catalonia’s General Secretariat for Sport. Should circumstances derived from the Covid-19 pandemic mean it is not possible to safeguard the health of all attendees, the Assembly shall be adjourned until the conditions arise in which the Assembly can be held face-to-face.

Covid-19: Financial impact on European football

The Board of Directors has analysed the content of the latest ECA General Assembly, attended last Tuesday by president Josep Maria Bartomeu, that detailed the reduction in revenue caused to European clubs by the Covid-19 pandemic. In two years, it is estimated that European clubs in general will be missing out on some 4,000 million euros.

According to FIFA, 90% of this loss will affect club budgets and will have a direct impact on the transfer market, bringing transfer fees down by between 20 and 30%.

Clubs will also be receiving 575 million euros less from the sale of TV rights for the last edition of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League due to the postponement of games and the resumption of the competition in a shorted format.

Budget adjustments for the 2020-2021 season

The Board has assessed the set of measures proposed by the Covid-19 Commission to adjust and balance the budget for the 2020-21 season to the loss of revenue caused by the pandemic.

The club estimates a reduction by around 30% in relation to income budgeted for the 2019-2020 season. This figure is based on the assumption that club activity should start returning to normal around the start of the coming year.

These measures are in addition to those that the club already implemented at the outset of the pandemic, in order to maximise savings to minimise losses due to the lack of revenue in the final quarter of the 2019-20 season.