Joan Laporta welcomed by Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu

An FC Barcelona delegation led by president Joan Laporta has been in Bucharest to attend to various sporting and institutional events in the Romanian capital. If Tuesday was a day marked by the opening of the Barça Academy Bucharest, the first in the country, Wednesday was dedicated to institutional matters with a visit to the Romanian Football Federation, the country's Parliament and a reception with the prime minister. 

In the morning Joan Laporta was greeted by Razvan Burleanu, the president of the Romanian Football Federation, at their headquarters. During a meeting the two figures discussed the current state of Romanian Football with the president of the Federation thanking FC Barcelona for their efforts in opening up a Barça Academy in Romania, something Burleanu believes will help develop football in the country. Both parties also dedicated time to exploring future collaborations. 

Visit  to Parliament

Once the visit to the Federation was over the blaugrana party moved on to the Romanian Parliament where they were received by Bogdan Matei, president of the Committee for Sport and Youth in the Romanian Senate, Ovidiu Puiu, university doctor and member of the Senate; Robert Cazanciuc, senator and vice president of the Senate and the former Minister of Justice; and Lucian Romascanu, president of the Senate and former Culture Minister. 

During the visit the Romanian officials all agreed in their comments that the arrival of a Barça Academy would help to promote football in the country and at the same time allow young people to learn a unique style of football, associated with the values that the Club is well known for around the world. For his part, president Laporta talked about the universal character and democratic nature of the Club and how it is prepared to work together with Romanian institutions on sporting, cultural and social projects. 

Meeting with the prime minister and Gica Popescu

The day's institutional activity finished with a visit to the country's cabinet office where the FC Barcelona delegation was welcomed by Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. Also present was Gica Popescu, a Barça player between 1995 and 1997 and captain of the blaugranes in his final season at the club. In the meeting prime minister Ciolacu noted the links between FC Barcelona and Romania via players like Popescu and his contemporary, Gica Hagi, as well as highlighting the Club as an example of how to display values not just on the field but also in an educational context. For his part, Laporta explained to the prime minister the Club's universality, its model of ownership and democratic nature, all of which together makes it a unique sporting institution in the world. 

At the conclusion of the visit, the blaugrana delegation returned to Barcelona.