Barcelona’s Possible Road To Redemption As They Look To Sort Out Their Mess
FC Barcelona are in a mess right now. Almost everyone who follows football closely is aware of the fact that the club is being run down to the ground by it’s administrative officials. The ones who run the club are trying their best to destroy Cruyff’s legacy and everything that Barcelona’s Godfather established in three decades.
If that’s the case, why isn’t the board being oust, you might ask. Well, Barcelona is not owned by some private company, agency or group of individuals where an hierarchy of power exists. It is owned by around 120,000 shareholders who are called ‘socis’. These socis are known to be very rigid and conservative in their approach. They are easily deluded by the Spanish press, especially Sport and Mundo Deportivo, which are controlled by President Bartomeu.
Is There Any Hope For A Revival?
Yes, there is a glimmer. Agusti Benedito, former board member in Laporta’s presidency and a candidate in the 2010 Presidential elections launched a vote of no confidence 6 days ago.
Okay, So How Does The Motion Actually Work?
The first step involves collecting 1/3rd of the total votes i.e. around 16,500 soci signatures. This will give the motion an official recognition and it will trigger an article clause in the constitution of the club that will initiate the second phase of the motion.
The second step is perhaps, the most fundamental part of the entire process. The triggered clause dictates that 2/3rd of the socis should be present in the city of Barcelona and cast their votes against the current board. In doing so, the board would be sacked and re-elections will be called.
Agusti Benedito, in his latest tweet on September 7, has claimed that he has received the 16,500 signatures as dictated by the first step and will soon begin the formal vote of no confidence against the board in a few days.
While the second step seems enormously difficult, it’s not entirely impossible.
The main predicament at this point is that the Catalan press hasn’t been transparent about the motion and there are a lot of socis who aren’t even aware of it. The fans and supporters of the club can play their part at this stage and help in reaching out to those socis, with the help of social media.
It is imperative for the future of the club that the motion succeeds. Otherwise, as pathetic as it may sound, Barcelona would keep spiraling down to mediocrity.