The Barca model

FC BARCELONA really is més que un club, more than a club – 100 per cent owned by its supporters, it represents a unique model.

Conventional wisdom says that you can’t compete without a rich sugar-daddy owner prepared to spend countless millions to finance a winning team – and yet Barça have been the most successful football team in Europe over recent years, dominating both domestically and in Europe, with Champions League wins in 2006, 2009 and 2011.

Unlike other rival teams that are answerable to shareholders or rich tycoons, Barça is democratic and accountable to its socios (paid up members), of which there are currently around 170,000.

In the annual general assembly, management must answer to an assembly that consists of 2,500 randomly chosen socios and the 600 most senior members.

The socios, who pay €161 a year for the privilege, govern the club by electing a president of the board of directors (currently Sandro Rosell) every four years, though club statutes allow members to unseat the president through a censure motion vote if they feel he isn’t performing his duties in the best interest of the club.

Randomly selected members are appointed to serve as delegates to the general assembly, which approves the annual budget.

Among the many advantages Barcelona members receive are discounts on tickets to most matches, money off in the club’s official stores, free stadium and museum tours, plus a range of other perks.

Another key advantage of being an FC Barcelona club member is that you can access a season ticket for the Camp Nou, though there is an additional fee for this.