When will Laporta call the Barça elections?

BarcelonaThe soft background melody is about to transform into guitars blasting rock and roll. The opposition to Laporta, which, despite several shared meals, still has notable differences, agrees on one thing: the tree of electoral movements at Can Barça will begin to shake before the end of 2025. "The cards will be on the table soon," one of the potential candidates assures ARA. "I'll announce my candidacy before Christmas, that's for sure," says another who's ready to launch his campaign. "We'll get started in early December, and if the elections are in March, we'll have to work a bit faster than if they're in June," explains another name that will be part of the electoral race.

Laporta can choose a date between March 15 and June 15 to hold the Barça presidential elections. And he must announce it, according to the club's statutes, at least 33 days before election day. There are only four months left until March 15th, but Laporta himself made it clear last Friday during the open training session at Camp Nou that he has not yet decided on a date. In any case, sources close to Laporta explained to ARA that right now the elections are more likely to be held at the end of March than in June. What is certain is that this time The winner will not need to provide an endorsement to take office.The League no longer requires it, and Laporta, who believes there should be some kind of reduced guarantee for liability, will not carry out the statutory reform of the club that could allow it before the elections.

"The truth is, I have no idea when Laporta will call the elections because he has arguments to do so in both March and June," admits one of the opposition voices. The main argument put forward for Laporta's preference to hold the elections at the end of March or the beginning of April is that Hansi Flick's Barça will likely still be alive in the three main competitions, and thus the team's sporting performance wouldn't substantially affect the voting intentions of the Barça members. On the other hand, if Laporta waits to hold them until after the season has ended, he risks being penalized electorally by a painful Champions League elimination or a La Liga title won by Real Madrid. But sporting results could also irrevocably benefit him. A treble, or simply the milestone of winning the Champions League after a decade, would likely overwhelm the arguments of the other candidates. Just remember what happened in the 2015 elections with Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Barça's economic situation

However, the team's performance is not the only factor Laporta has to consider when choosing the election date. Barça's still weak financial situation and the 240 million in accumulated losses during this term These are a wound the opposition is ready to pick at once the election campaign officially gets underway. Laporta's board has budgeted €1.075 billion in revenue and €4 million in profit for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Regardless of the election date, the winning president will be the one to finalize the accounts on June 30th. But the sooner the elections are held, the less control Laporta will have over the finances if he doesn't win, and the less time he'll have to rectify budgeted items that aren't being met (such as playing two league matches at the Johan Cruyff Stadium).

The return to Camp Nou

One of the major emotional arguments Laporta can use during the election campaign is the return to Camp Nou, although it will almost certainly be about a year later than initially planned. Last Friday, 21,795 spectators were already able to enjoy an open training session of Hansi Flick's team at the Blaugrana stronghold.But the return that will truly be a global adrenaline rush for Barcelona fans will be playing matches with at least 45,000 spectators. According to Laporta's board, this is not far off. The most optimistic current forecast is that it will be against Athletic Club on November 22nd or against Alavés on November 29th, coinciding with Barça's 126th anniversary. Meanwhile, part of the opposition is trying to form a cross-party candidacy after some tensions arose from Marc Ciria's team advancing on its own. the initiative to collect signatures to bring to the assembly the revocation of the permit to sell BLM (the club's retail sales)"The name of the candidate who would unite a cross-party candidacy may not have emerged yet," one of the potential candidates explained to ARA. Two of the names that have been mentioned in recent months for this role are those of former executives Ferran Soriano and Javier Faus. But, right now, several voices that could be part of the possible cross-party candidacy rule them both out.