Official Club Visit to the U.S. Capitol and Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — An official FC Barcelona delegation, including President Joan Laporta and managers Miquel Camps, Xavier Puig, Ferran Olivé, and Joan Soler, visited the Capitol building and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning.

Aslihan Bulut, the Law Librarian of Congress, and Ryan Ramsey, the Chief of Staff to the Librarian of Congress, welcomed the group. Both institutions gave a private tour to the Club's board members, showcasing historical documents from their collections.

This visit is part of a series of institutional events the Club is conducting during Barça's tour in the United States. The goal is to strengthen relationships with various institutions in what is a strategic market for the Club, both from a business perspective and in terms of expanding the Barça brand among American soccer fans.

Throughout their stay, FC Barcelona has scheduled meetings with North American public and civil representatives. The club currently has 14 official supporters clubs across the United States, along with seven Barça Academies (Austin, Casa Grande, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Miami, and New York) that organize around 40 camps each season. Since 2016, FC Barcelona has also had an office in New York City.

This summer marks the third consecutive pre-season tour in the United States for the team. In their opening match of this year's tour, Hansi Flick's squad defeated the current Premier League champions, Manchester City, on penalties at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on July 30. Next, the team will face Real Madrid at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on August 3, and they will conclude the tour against AC Milan at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on August 6.

In parallel with the first team, the Barça Foundation team is also in the United States to participate in the Genuine World Cup from August 1 to 3. The Genuine blaugrana team will compete against teams from the United States (Houston Dynamo, Inter Miami, and Special Olympics USA), teams from Mexico (Querétaro, Tigres UANL, and Special Olympics México), and from Portugal (Benfica and Sporting). In addition to the Barça Foundation, Gimnàstic de Tarragona, Athletic Club, and Valencia are also representing LaLiga Genuine.

FC Barcelona's presence in the United States this summer will conclude with the pre-season tour of the women's team. On August 27 and August 30, FC Barcelona Femení will face two American teams, Bay FC from the National Women's Soccer League and Dallas Trinity FC from the USL Super League, respectively.