FC Barcelona

History

The History of FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona is one of most well known football clubs around the world. It was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper. Currently, the club is still owned and presidents are elected by the club members. The count of club members is currently numbered over 160,000. There are about 1,782 penyes (officially registered supporter clubs). It is clear that FC Barcelona has a huge following.

Camp Nou opened in 1957 and became the team's stadium.

Although the club is widely known for just their 'football' team, they also have other sports like basketball (Winterthur FCB), handball(FC Barcelona-Cifec), ice hockey(FC Barcelona Sorli Discau), figure skating, indoor football, rugby, baseball, volleyball and women's football. However, their soccer team is recognized and reknowned around the world for being among the best.

Barcelona have always had a tradition of not showing sponsors' logos on their jersies. However, in 2006, they announced a 5-year agreement with the UNICEF charity that involved wearing the logo on their shirt and the team donating to the UNICEF cause.

The team has always attracted some of the best footballers in the world to the formidable Nou Camp and the current squad is no exception. Brazilian World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o, Argentina's "new Maradona" Lionel Messi and Portuguese midfielder Deco make this team unstoppable.