The Consorci signs a sponsorship agreement with FC Barcelona to promote the city of Barcelona

Barcelona, 16 January 2019. The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona and Barcelona Football Club have signed a cooperation agreement whereby both organisations will implement projects of mutual interest to promote the city of Barcelona. The agreement was signed at the Club during a meeting between the chairman of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and Special State Delegate Pere Navarro. The ceremony was attended by representatives of FC Barcelona, namely vice president of sport Jordi Mestre, the Club’s CEO, Òscar Grau and, on behalf of the Consorci de la Zona Franca, Anton Ferré, secretary general and Blanca Sorigué, managing director.

The Consorci and FC Barcelona will draw upon synergies for promotional purposes from their respective operational areas by managing joint projects in different areas. One of these is Barça Innovation Hub (BIHUB), a platform that brings together research projects, the Club’s training area and innovation, which is set to become an industry hub and knowledge accelerator in the European and global sports sector. The BIHUB also aspires to transform Barcelona into the Silicon Valley of the powerful sports industry.

The Club is firmly committed to the city and to contributing to its economic development as a driver for the economy, tourism, occupation and tax income for Barcelona. It is worth remembering that in a Deloitte study of the impact of the club’s 2014/15 football season, FC Barcelona contributed 906 million euros (1.5%) to the city’s GDP.

According to the ‘Barcelona in the eyes of the world 2018’ study, conducted in the framework of the Barcelona Brand Project presented yesterday by Barcelona City Council, Barça is a symbolic brand for Barcelona.

Present at the World Free Trade Zone Congress.

The Consorci de la Zona Franca is hosting a logistics summit in the city of Barcelona in June, comprising three large-scale events that will attract more than 1,000 participants, among which is the WFZO (World Free Zones Organisation) World Free Trade Zone Congress (26 to 28 June). FC Barcelona will collaborate by hosting some event activities and assisting with international publicity.

The Consorci de la Zona Franca (CZFB), the first Spanish state consortium (1916), is a public organisation whose mission is to stimulate the economy, mainly in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Its primary activity is managing Free Trade Zone Industrial Estate, its assets and to drive the internationalisation of Barcelona, Catalonia and the Spanish state in the trade fair, logistics and real estate sectors. It is responsible for more than 12,000,000 m² of industrial and urban real estate in different stages of development.

Statements by Jordi Mestre, deputy vice-president of FC Barcelona:

“The Club is delighted with this agreement with the Consorci de la Zona Franca. Naturally, FC Barcelona is always willing to cooperate with other partners to promote Barcelona. This arrangement between the Consorci and FC Barcelona will add weight and significance to any activity to promote the city. We are always open and ready to undertake joint projects”.

Statements by Pere Navarro, Special State Delegate:

“The World Free Trade Zone Congress will take place in June, and we want everyone to know where it is happening. In this regard, FC Barcelona, its facilities, culture and history are all very important to our relationship with this world. This will be the first of many collaborations and we are pleased to have entered into an arrangement which we foresee it will continue for many years”.