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Barcelona ratifies five-year Qatar shirt deal

Dunya News

Barcelona's general assembly has ratified club's shirt sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation.

The team shirt already bears the Qatar Foundation logo this season, but the clubs members gave their approval to continue the five-year deal that the European champions say will bring in €171 million ($230 million).The decision to sell advertising space on its jersey for the first time in the clubs 112-year history had brought strong criticism from former president Joan Laporta and legendary player-turned-coach Johan Cruyff.But 697 members voted yes to the deal late Saturday, while only 76 voted no and 36 abstained.The clubs executive board led by president Sandro Rosell successfully argued that the deal was key to balancing the books for a club that lost €9 million ($12.7 million) last season and has a debt of €369 million ($499 million).Club vice president Javier Faus said the club had no choice but to accept the deal given its substantial economic impact.In 2006, Laporta struck a deal with UNICEF in which the club paid the childrens aid organization €1.5 million ($2 million) to use its logo on the front of its jersey. The UNICEF logo now rests on the back below the players number.Faus added that the deal includes an opt-out clause for Barcelona from the third year on.The club members also voted to ban smoking at Camp Nou stadium and gave the green light for the club to study the creation of a special section for its most passionate supporters.The debate over the sponsorship deal is the latest spat between Laporta and Rosell, who formed part of Laportas executive board from 2003 to 2005 before personal differences led to his exit. Since replacing Laporta as Barcelonas president in the summer of 2010, Rosell has accused Laporta of mismanagement of the clubs finances and running the club into debt.
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