FC BARCELONA - FUTBOL CLUB BARCELONA

Barcelona Football Club operates a number of sports teams in Barcelona, Catalonia. Its slogan is Barça is more than a club, which is inspired by the club's pivotal social and political role in Spain. The club's stadium is Camp Nou. It can host the biggest number of spectators out of all stadiums in Europe with 98 800 seats in total. Its official name is Nou Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona. Barcelona are the legendary champions of Europe and Spain alike. The team's home colors are maroon and blue, and their away colors are yellow and black.

Naturally, Barcelona FC is most famous for its La Liga (League of Professional Football) team. It is also well known for the Barcelona B, its reserve football team. The club also incorporates four other pro sports teams – it has expanded into roller hockey, handball, basketball and indoor football (futsal). These teams wear the same colors and are subsidised by the football section. Among them are FC Barcelona ��� Cifec and Winterthur FCB.

Football Club Barcelona was founded in 1899 by Joan Gamper. He was born in a Swiss canton, and selected maroon and blue as the official team colors because they were the colors of that canton. The club also includes several excellent amateur sports teams competing at wheelchair basketball, women's basketball, women's football, and rugby.

Prior to 2005 Barca refused to feature sponsorship logos on team uniforms. The team colors are believed to represent Catalonia and logos were considered intrusive. In 2005 the team began to wear the logo of Catalonia TV. Recently the players have worn a symbol of the Catalan flag on their shorts, reinforcing the associations of the club with Catalonia.

At first the club only had 11 players. In the years after its founding it quickly acquired a great reputation on the Spanish football scene. The team took part in the first Copa del Rey and the first Catalan Championship.

Joan Gamper became club president in 1908. He spent 25 years at the fore, having been appointed to this position various times in the club's history. The club received its own stadium during his tenure, which was his main achievement as president. Barcelona had over 10 000 members by 1922. Gamper signed legendary players like Josep Samitier and Ricardo Zamora. These players helped win the first Professional League championship in 1929.

The club's rivalry with Real Madrid goes back a long way. This is hardly surprsing, as hard feelings often develop between the two best teams in a national league. Ever since the beginning the clubs were believed to represent the two rival Spanish cities, Castile and Catalonia. The antagonism reached a new level during the despotic regime of Franco. Real Madrid was regarded as the regime team, while Barcelona was considered the opposition team.

2005 was a spectacular year for Barca, with an influx of new and talented football players like Deco, Eto'o, Giuly, and of course Ronaldinho, who was voted Footballer of the Year. The team also boasts a group of experienced professionals, such as Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Rafael Márquez, and Henrik Larsson. Due to their combined efforts Barca won the Professional League competition and the Supercup of Spain in 2005. 2006 has also started on a high note for the team. Barca won the UEFA Champions League on May 17, 2006. This is their second UEFA championship victory in history (the other was in 1992). On May 3, 2006, Barcelona won their 18th La Liga title. They emerged as the reigning champions of Spain.

The team's major trophies include four victories of the European Cup Winners Cup (1979, 1982, 1989, 1997), three victories of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1958, 1960, 1966), two victories of the European Super Cup (1992, 1997), and two Copa Latina victories (1949, 1952).

Estadi Olímpic
Location: Montjuïc
Address: Passeig Olímpic 17-19, Barcelona, Vizcaya, Spain
Phone: 93/426-2089

The Olympic Stadium was originally built for the Great Exhibition of 1929, with the idea that Barcelona would then host the 1936 Olympics (ultimately staged in Hitler's Berlin). After failing twice to win the nomination, Barcelona celebrated the attainment of its long-cherished goal by renovating the semiderelict stadium in time for 1992, providing seating for 70,000. Next door and just downhill stands the futuristic Palau Sant Jordi Sports Palace, designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. The structure has no pillars or beams to obstruct the view, and was built from the roof down - the roof was built first, then hydraulically lifted into place. Weekdays 10-2 and 4-7, weekends 10-6.

• Sport competitions: The sport calendar of the Circuit de Catalunya includes several competitions of the Catalan and Spanish Motorcycling or Car Championships, both 24 Hours Endurance races, the F-1 Spanish Grand Prix and the Catalan Motorcycling Grand Prix.
  
• Laboratory of important competitions: The Circuit de Catalunya, which is considered a technical and selective track, offers very valued data to teams engineers and to drivers and riders when setting their cars and bikes.
  
• Track days: All over the year, motor sport supporters have the chance to become the track stars at the Circuit de Catalunya.
  
• Incentive days: The Circuit organizes several activities for groups and companies, quads races, 4X4 circuit and helicopter flights, among others.
  
• Presentations and conventions: The Circuit de Catalunya facilities are a unique place for any kind of public relations, social or commercial activities.
  
• RACC-Renault Touring Cars School: Safe driving school located at the Circuit.
  
• Formula Renault RACC - Circuit de Catalunya School: Formulas driving school located at the Circuit.
  
  More information at: http://www.circuitcat.com/catalan/index.asp

The Torneo Godó, also known as Trofeo Conde de Godó, Open SabadellAtlántico (current official name) and Open SEAT (official name from 1995 to 2007), is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. The event is held annually in Barcelona, Spain, and is played on clay courts. The tournament is part of the International Series Gold tournaments on the ATP Tour.

It is Spain's second most important tournament on the ATP tour after the Madrid Masters and the event generally takes place in the last week of April, when temperatures in Barcelona average a daily high of 18°C.

Barcelona has always been a city that lives and breathes sport. Today, and thanks in large part to the holding of the Olympic Games, a quarter of the city's population now regularly do some type of sport and have included physical exercise in their habitual activities. The people of Barcelona have seized the city's public spaces, squares, parks and new beaches and turned them into focal points of sports activities. And we must continue to advance in this direction. The City Council promotes and stimulates sport at all levels - from amateur to professional, from school to retirement, from 'fun runs' to summer activities - building and remodelling facilities, equipping districts and educational centres. Facilitating access for everyone to a healthier lifestyle through physical exercise. Consolidating Barcelona's international role as a city of Sport.

They are much and diverse the sports that you can practice in Barcelona:

- Tennis: The world famous Conde de Godó International Trophi tournament takes place every April.
- Formula 1 Racing: The Formula 1 Grand Prix takes place in may at Montmeló.
- Sailing and Water sports: Sailing and water sports can be enjoyed to the full in Barcelona due to its close proximity to the sea. Several regattas are held every year during the spring and summer.
- Skiing: There are several ski resorts in the Pyrenees (Girona, Lleida), within easy access from Barcelona through the Cadí Tunnel.

This is only one of hundreds of examples that you can doing in Barcelona