FC Barcelona visits penyes in California, Texas and Nevada

FC Barcelona's supporters clubs in the United States played a big role in the team's tour of their country in July. There were two formal events in Los Angeles, one in Dallas and another in Las Vegas that gave the club a great chance to reach out to its followers during Barça On Tour: US 2023.

On July 21, the Peña Blaugrana Los Angeles played hosts at Glen Arden Club, with some fifty local fans sharing their obvious passion for all things blaugrana with the four board members who also attended Elena Fort, vice-president of the Institutional Area; Antonio Escudero, vice-president of the del Social Area, and Josep Ignasi Macià, the director responsible for the Social Area.

The event included a draw for Barça themed products, and was also attended by members of the Peña Blaugrana San Diego and Peña Blaugrana Fresno. California has more Barça supporters clubs than any other US state, five in total, two in LA, and one each in San Diego, Fresno and San Francisco.

Double reception

It was the Peña Barcelonista de San Francisco, together with Los Angeles FC Barcelona Soccer, who hosted the second meeting in the state, a double reception with the board members in a Los Angeles hotel on July 23. Elena Fort, Antonio Escudero, Josep Ignasi Macià and were joined by Joan Solé, the director responsible for handball, and Aureli Mas, the director responsible for futsal. The San Francisco supporters were unable to hold their own reception due to the cancellation of the game with Juventus at the Levi's Stadium following an outbreak of gastroenteritis in the Barça squad. Due to the difficulty getting to San Francisco, the club's secretary, Robert Manson, who lives in Los Angeles, represented his companions from the club.

Passion in Texas

On Friday 28 July, more than 120 supporters from the Peña Barça Austin and Peña Blaugrana Houston were at an event organised by the club in Dallas, attended by Elena Fort, Antonio Escudero, Josep Ignasi Macià, Aureli Mas, Miquel Camps, the director responsible for amateur teams, and Xavier Puig, director responsible for women's football. There was a huge buzz of excitement among everyone present in the build-up to the game with Real Madrid.

The event was also attended by the director of the Barça Academy in Austin, Xavi Pérez, who spoke together with the presidents of the three Texan penyes, namely Victor Valencheck (Austin), Paul de los Reyes (Houston) and Matt Gonzales (Dallas). The speeches were followed by a dinner and a draw for different Barça prizes.

Las Vegas, last stop

The fourth and final such event was on August 1 at a hotel in Las Vegas, where the local penya was joined by Antonio Escudero, Josep Ignasi Macià and Aureli Mas. The local club has 80 members and was founded just three years ago, and a welcome was given by its president, Jared Lindsey, who handed over a gift from the city mayor, Carolyn G. Goodman, who had declared that July 31, the day the players arrived in the city, FC Barcelona Day.