Presentation of the second volume of “Història del Barça de Bàsquet” by Francesc Fernández

This morning, in the press room of the Palau Blaugrana and live on Barça One, the second volume of the book Història del Barça de Bàsquet (1941-1965), by historian Francesc Fernández, was presented. After the publication of the first volume dedicated to the period 1926-1940, this new edition focuses on the post-war period and on the resumption of sports activity until the mid-1960s.

The event was chaired by director Josep Cubells, responsible for the Club's basketball section, who opened the session by welcoming the attendees and thanking the author and the Editorial Base for their joint work, represented by Jordi Sobrequés. “This book helps us a lot to tell our story,” Cubells said, recalling that 2026 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Blaugrana section.

Cubells has especially highlighted the 1946/47 season, in which FC Barcelona won every possible title: the Catalan Championship, the Spanish League (not yet officially recognized), the Cup and the Iberian Cup, the first international tournament played. He also wanted to highlight the historic coincidence that the Club's first international match in this period was against Virtus Bologna, this week's rival in the Euroleague.

An exhaustive work of research

In his speech, Francesc Fernández reviewed the contents of the book and recognized the difficulty of accessing documentary sources, especially during the 1940s, which prolonged the research and writing process for almost two years. He explained how the Franco regime forced players to participate in competitions organized by the Falange, such as the Producers League, which received more media coverage than the official federal competitions.

He also highlighted some of the key moments in the book, such as the crisis of 1961, when the Club, chaired by Enric Llaudet, decided to eliminate several sports sections to reduce expenses, after the great economic effort involved in the construction of the Camp Nou. At that time, the basketball section was practically dismantled, and only the perseverance of figures like Josep Maria Portela, who took on the challenge of returning the team to the First Division, allowed its continuity.

The author wanted to pay tribute to the Martínez brothers, who proposed a co-sponsorship system to save the section, offering to finance it jointly with a company. However, that proposal was not accepted by the Board of Directors at that time.

The event was attended by prominent protagonists of that period, such as Jesús Soros and Portela himself, former players and coaches of Barça basketball.

Centennial in preparation

During question time, Josep Cubells announced that work has been under way for some time on the events commemorating the centennial of the basketball section, which will take place in 2026. Soon it will be presented to the curator of the centenary, who will officially inaugurate a program of activities to celebrate a century of Blaugra history on the slopes.