Two management models in the hands of the partners

BarcelonaJoan Laporta or Víctor Font? This is the question facing the 114,504 Barça members who are called to the polls this Sunday. It's the first head-to-head between two candidates since the Gaspart-Bassat match in 2000, and the first time a general election has coincided with a game at the stadium. The polling stations will open at 9 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Around 10 p.m., the winner is expected to be announced.

The election campaign is drawing to a close after a run of surprises, starting with the signature cutoff, which only two of the six pre-candidates met. With Daniel Juan and William Maddock relegated to a purely symbolic role, Xavier Vilajoana was the first to be eliminated because he failed to gather the minimum number of signatures required. Marc Ciria did participate, but he too was eliminated from the race after more than 20% of his endorsements were invalidated during the validation process. In fact, Ciria even appealed to the Catalan Federation for reinstatement, but his appeal was unsuccessful.

Thus, Font and Laporta were the only two to make the cut. They faced each other again in the final stretch, just as they had in 2021. Back then, there was a third contender, Toni Freixa, who finished third in the vote count in those elections marked by the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, voting was conducted by mail at various polling stations, a system only partially replicated this year, as postal voting has ultimately been abandoned. However, there are several polling places available. Aside from Camp Nou, where a majority of members are expected to vote, polling places are open in Girona, Tarragona, Lleida, and Andorra la Vella. The census is universal, so everyone can vote wherever they like. However, voter turnout is an unknown quantity, and this is one of the factors that could ultimately tip the scales. Mobilizing undecided voters has been a key element in this short but intense campaign, with heated debates and intense scrutiny of Joan Laporta's five years in office. The fact that there will be a match at the stadium, an exceptional occurrence, might suggest that more people will be encouraged to vote. But the fact that Camp Nou is not yet operating at full capacity, with a maximum of 62,000 spectators—a significant percentage of whom are tourists—makes it even more uncertain. Joan Laporta has based his campaign on boasting about his record in office. President from 2003 to 2010, he returned to the presidential box after losing the 2015 elections. Laporta took the reins of a club in economic and sporting crisis and has managed to catapult it back to the elite. His achievements on the pitch are, in fact, his greatest asset and the point he emphasized throughout the campaign, where the slogans were "we saved Barça," "we defend Barça," and "against all odds." Titles, restoring the fans' enthusiasm, and the construction of a Camp Nou that was completed despite unfavorable economic conditions were other arguments he repeated ad nauseam. However, his proposals for the future have been limited to a continuity model that involves making few changes, especially in the sporting arena.

Víctor Font, who first came to prominence in 2015 but declined to run at the time, became the leader of the opposition in 2021, backed by more than 17,000 club members. A remarkable number, but insufficient to defeat Laporta. The businessman from Granollers returns in 2026 having learned his lesson after making sporadic appearances during the first part of Laporta's term, which became more frequent as the elections approached. Critical of the club's financial management, Font faces the difficult task of defeating a president seeking reelection, something that has never happened since the position became elected by universal suffrage. The businessman has based his campaign on two main pillars. First, exposing the financial shortcomings of a Barça that, in his opinion, are very weak. And second, offering proposals for change should he be elected. The most notable changes are in the sports leadership, which he promises to overhaul from top to bottom, in addition to repeated overtures to some of the groups that may be most dissatisfied with Laporta's leadership, such as supporters of the various sports sections or the fan groups, to whom he has made significant promises.

The campaign has been influenced by the matches of the men's first team, which generate the most excitement and have limited the presidential candidates' options, as it was more difficult for them to gain media attention. It has also been very short, lasting barely a month, compared to the four months of the previous elections. And there have been some shocks, such as the lawsuit against Laporta that was initially dismissed by the National Court, and the use of Leo Messi by the opposition. To what extent will these aspects be decisive? Laporta has played defensively, and Font has tried to probe him. Now it's the members' turn: who will they trust?