Football Club Barcelona are without a president for four months now. Ever since Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned in October, the club has been managed by an interim board that is headed by Carlos Tusquets. The election for a permanent president was supposed to be held on the 24th of January but due to the COVID-19 situation in Spain, the election has been shifted to 7th March.
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The Catalans are not in a very good situation right now, they have a captain who wants to leave, they are unable to pay their player’s salaries and recently it was released that they are in a debt of 1.2 billion euros. They are a club that desperately needs guidance and a new president would bring back order around the club. However, it seems like they must wait even longer.
Joan Laporta, Victor Font, and Toni Freixa will be battling it out for the hot seat on March 7th. The members will be able to send in their vote via mail or give it in person at one of the six polling stations.
In an official statement, the club said that the elections were delayed due to the risks surrounding the coronavirus. However, they are positive that the event will take place on the 7th of March between 9 am to 9 pm without any interruptions, across all the venues.
The Barcelona statement went on to explain,
"“The Management Commission wants to underline that the holding of these elections is conditioned by the exceptionality derived from the Covid-19 pandemic, so they will be organized following, at all times, the provisions and indications of the health authorities, in order to protect the health and ensure the safety of voters.”Source Goal"
The delay is not good for the club which is crumbling under financial stress. All three candidates have been very vocal about their plans for the club. Laporta, who is winning, has emphasized on the importance of keeping Lionel Messi, Font has talked about bringing Xavi Hernandez into the club as the new manager, and meanwhile, Freixa has backed current manager, Ronald Koeman.
Barcelona are currently 1.2 billion euros in debt which they are hoping to pay back by the end of June. However, to do so they will require the guidance and leadership of an experienced manager and Laporta has the most experienced amongst the three as he was already the president of the club once before.
Who would you like to see as Barca’s next president?