The board of directors of Joan Laporta will face today its second Assembly in the last four months after the one held on June 20 last in the Camp Nou to close the accounts for the 2019-20 financial year as it was not possible to celebrate in the fall of 2020 due to the pandemic. With 4,452 delegated members called, this afternoon (3:00 p.m.) at the Palau Blaugrana recovers its usual ‘timing’ and is expected to be transcendental for the economic viability of the FC Barcelona in the next years.
To begin with, the closing of 2020-21 will be submitted for approval by the current board with a result of 481 million losses. The audit of Ernst &Young it validated it but indicated that the provisions for pending lawsuits (101 million) and the deterioration of players (160) “are subject to significant lawsuits by the current board of directors.” For the current season, it will be asked to approve a budget of 765 million, much lower than the 631 billed in 2020-21 and the 990 (record) of 2018-19, the last entire without effects of the pandemic.
The accounts of the Barça
The order of the day highlights the request for a green light to finance the Barça space for a maximum amount of 1,500 million euros with Goldman Sachs as a mediator. In case of OK, the works could start next summer in the Camp Nou with the idea of finishing them in 2025. Authorization will also be requested to sell a maximum of 49% of Barça Studios with the objective of entering 50 million, already included in the budget.
The reform of Statutes it will also focus the discussion. Finally, eight articles and two transitory provisions will be voted separately and not en bloc. Everyone needs a two-thirds yes. The telematics registration of the partner, the disconnection of the World Confederation of Supporters Clubs, reducing the term from six years to five starting in 2026 and raising the executive limit from 21 to 26 will precede the most contentious issue. Suffocated by the economic effects of the pandemic, the current board wants to suspend ‘sine die’, “until the restitution of positive net worth” to article 67 that would force him to resign in the event of two years in a row with losses. Intense afternoon before Barça-Valencia from 9pm.
THE ORDER OF THE DAY
1. President’s Report.
2. Report and approval, if applicable, of the settlement of the financial year corresponding to the 2020/2021 season.
3. Report and approval, if applicable, of the budget for the financial year corresponding to the 2021/2022 season.
4. Espai Barça. Approval, if applicable, of obtaining the necessary financing to carry out the operation.
5. Barça Studios. Authorization to transfer a minority stake in the capital stock to one or more investors.
6. Report and approval, if applicable, of the proposed reform of the Statutes.
7. Report of the Trustee of the Partners.
8. Proposals for partners in accordance with the provisions of article 20.11 of the Bylaws.
9. Open shift for interventions.
THE ARTICLES OF THE BYLAWS TO BE REFORMED
Art 4. Functional scope
Recognition in favor of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Art. 12 Acquisition of membership status
Allow electronic registration, with a digital signature or similar security element.
Art. 16 Supporters Clubs
Recognize and enhance the freedom and autonomy of the Penyes and the faculty of the club to regulate the relationship with the Penyes without the intermediation of another interlocutor (Confederació Mundial de Penyes).
Art 23. Condition of compromiser
That the presidents of the territorial federations of penyes cease to be part of the Assembly as compromisario partners.
Art. 33 Composition of the board of directors
Proposal to raise the maximum number of members from 21 to 25 and maintain the minimum of 14.
Art. 34 Term of office
Reduce it from six years to five (as of 2026) to adapt the Statutes to what is available in the Third Book of the Civil Code of Catalonia.
Art. 39 Code of ethics
Extension of your relationship to all club employees.
Art. 60 Ethics and Transparency Commission
Recognize it as its own statutory body of an advisory nature in the same way as the Disciplinary Commission and the Economic Commission.
TRANSITORY DISPOSITIONS
Art. 34. The modification of the duration of the mandate will not affect the current meeting, which is scheduled to end on June 30, 2026.
Art. 67. As a result of the losses recorded and the club’s debt existing at the time of approval of the annual accounts for the 2020-21 financial year, article 67 is provisionally suspended and without effect until the return of the positive net worth. This proposal results from the fact that the requirements contained in article 67 to reestablish a situation of equity imbalance or losses within two seasons and to maintain a certain proportion between the net debt and the EBITDA level, is currently
unattainable.
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