GALLERY AB5 FC BARCELONA L'Estadi Camp Nou Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Coordinates 41°22′51.20?
FC Barcelona, nicknamed "Barça", is a football club based in Barcelona, Spain that competes in La Liga, the most senior football league in Spain. Since its founding in 1899, the club has had 39 different presidents. The club is owned by the club-members of FC Barcelona, and similarly to a limited liability company, they elect the president by a ballot. The president has the responsibility for the
overall management of the club, including formally signing contracts with players and staff. In Spain, it is customary for the president to watch the games in which the first-team participates, together with the president from the opposing team. On October 22, 1899, Swiss sportsman Joan Gamper placed an advertisement in the Los Deportes newspaper declaring his wish to form a football club in the city. A positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on November 29 which eleven men attended, including Walter Wild, later to become the first president of the club, and Bartomeu Terradas, who became the second president. As a result of this meeting FC Barcelona was formed.[1]
In 1908, Gamper became club president for the first time, taking over the presidency to save the club from extinction.[1] The club had not won anything since the Campionat de Catalunya in 1905, and as a result was experiencing severe financial difficulties. Gamper was subsequently club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925 and spent 26 years with the club. One of his main achievements was to help Barça acquire its own stadium and thus a way of generating stable income.[1] An annual pre-season competition, the Joan Gamper Trophy, has been held in his honour since 1966. The team won six Campionat de Catalunya titles between 1930 and 1938,[3] but success at national level (with the exception of the 1937 disputed title) evaded them. From the formation of La Liga until 1978, Barcelona had 20 different presidents, meaning each presidential period lasted on average two-and-a-half years. In 1978 Josep Lluís Núñez became the first elected president of FC Barcelona, and ever since members of the club have elected the club president. The process of electing a president of FC Barcelona was closely tied to Spain's transition to democracy in 1974 and the end of Franco's dictatorship. Núñez's main objective was to develop Barça into a world-class club by giving it stability both on and off the pitch.[4] His presidency lasted for 22 years, making him the longest-serving president. After the departure of Núñez in 2000, his vice-president through 22 years, Joan Gaspart took over the club. During his presidency of the club, the team won no trophies and, after two-and-a-half years Gaspart resigned his position on February 12, 2003 when the team lay in 15th place, two points above relegation.[5] Enric Reyna was elected as temporary president until the board resigned on May 5, 2003. Hereafter an interim commission presided until the general elections were held.[6] On June 15, 2003 Joan Laporta entered office and was the most successful president in terms of Champions league trophies. The club won the Champions League twice within three years and completed an "unprecedented sextuple" by winning the 2008–09 La Liga, 2008–09 Copa del Rey, 2009 Supercopa de España, 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, 2009 UEFA Super Cup and 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.[7]
On June 13, 2010 Sandro Rosell was elected president of FC Barcelona with more than 60% of the vote of Barça's club members, and he formally took over the presidency on July 1, 2010. Below is the official presidential history of FC Barcelona, from when Walter Wild took over at the club in 1899, until the present day
Name Nationality[n 1] From To Honours
Walter Wild English November 29, 1899 April 25, 1901
Bartomeu Terradas Spanish April 25, 1901 September 5, 1902
Paul Haas German September 5, 1902 September 17, 1903
Arthur Witty English September 17, 1903 October 6, 1905
Josep Soler Spanish October 6, 1905 October 16, 1906
Juli Marial Spanish October 16, 1906 November 11, 1908
Vicenç Reig Spanish November 11, 1908 December 2, 1908
Joan Gamper Swiss December 2, 1908 October 14, 1909
Otto Gmeling German October 14, 1909 November 17, 1910 1 Copa del Rey
Joan Gamper Swiss November 17, 1910 June 30, 1913 2 Copa del Rey
Francesc de Moxó Spanish June 30, 1913 July 30, 1914
Àlvar Presta Spanish July 30, 1914 September 29, 1914
Joaquim Peris de Vargas Spanish September 29, 1914 June 29, 1915
Rafael Llopart Spanish June 29, 1915 June 25, 1916
Gaspar Rosés Spanish June 25, 1916 June 17, 1917
Joan Gamper Swiss June 17, 1917 June 10, 1919
Ricard Graells Spanish June 10, 1919 June 27, 1920 1 Copa del Rey
Gaspar Rosés Spanish June 27, 1920 July 17, 1921
Joan Gamper Swiss July 17, 1921 July 29, 1923 1 Copa del Rey
Eric Cardona Spanish July 29, 1923 June 1, 1924
Joan Gamper Swiss June 1, 1924 December 17, 1925 1 Copa del Rey
Arcadi Balaguer Spanish December 17, 1925 March 23, 1929 2 Copa del Rey
Tomàs Rosés Spanish March 23, 1929 June 30, 1930 1 La Liga
Gaspar Rosés Spanish June 30, 1930 October 22, 1931
Antoni Oliver Spanish October 22, 1931 December 20, 1931
Joan Coma Spanish December 20, 1931 July 16, 1934
Esteve Sala Spanish July 16, 1934 July 27, 1935
Josep Sunyol Spanish July 27, 1935 August 6, 1936
Managing Commission[10] N/A August 6, 1936 May 6, 1939
Joan Soler Spanish May 6, 1939 March 13, 1940
Enrique Piñeyro Spanish March 13, 1940 July 10, 1942 1 Copa del Rey
Josep Vidal-Ribas Spanish July 10, 1942 August 13, 1942
Enrique Piñeyro Spanish August 13, 1942 August 20, 1943
Josep Antoni de Albert Spanish August 20, 1943 September 20, 1943
Josep Vendrell Spanish September 20, 1943 September 20, 1946 1 La Liga, 1 Copa Eva Duarte
Agustí Montal Galobart Spanish September 20, 1946 July 16, 1952 3 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 2 Copa Eva Duarte
Enric Martí Carreto Spanish July 16, 1952 September 22, 1953 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Copa Eva Duarte
Francesc Miró-Sans Spanish September 22, 1953 February 28, 1961 2 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 2 Fairs Cup
Enric Llaudet Spanish February 28, 1961 January 17, 1968 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Fairs Cup
Narcís de Carreras Spanish January 17, 1968 December 18, 1969 1 Copa del Rey
Agustí Montal Costa Spanish December 18, 1969 December 18, 1977 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey
Raimon Carrasco Spanish December 18, 1977 July 1, 1978 1 Copa del Rey
Josep Lluís Núñez Spanish July 1, 1978 July 23, 2000 7 La Liga, 6 Copa del Rey, 2 Copa de la Liga, 5 Spanish Supercup, 1 European Cup, 4 Cup Winners' Cup, 2 UEFA Super Cup
Joan Gaspart Spanish July 23, 2000 February 12, 2003
Enric Reyna Spanish February 12, 2003 May 6, 2003
Managing Commission[11] N/A May 6, 2003 June 15, 2003
Joan Laporta[n 2] Spanish June 15, 2003 June 30, 2010 4 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 Spanish Supercup, 2 Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup
Sandro Rosell Spanish July 1, 2010 — 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 2 Spanish Supercup, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup
