Laporta Presents His Project for Barcelona Elections

Joan Laporta will once again have his share of prominence in the pre-campaign for the Barcelona elections at noon (12:00). After announcing his intentions in a video last Tuesday and inaugurating his headquarters in the heart of Barcelona last Friday, he will now unveil part of his project in which Catalan nationalism, La Masia, Cryuff, and Unicef will take center stage. Laporta, a declared opponent to everything done, said, or thought by former President Bartomeu, aims to govern Barcelona once again after his political role as a deputy in the Parliament and councilor in the Ajuntament.

"I don't see myself as a favorite," Laporta declared last week. For this adventure, he will once again rely on Rafael Yuste (his former sports vice president) and plans to have youth academy graduates or former club stars as visible faces of the professional sections. Albert Luque (soccer), Gaby Cairo (hockey), Roger Esteller (basketball), or Enric Masip (handball) would be the chosen ones, although there may be more names he is negotiating with, including Abidal. There is interest in seeing what his message will be and how he will deliver it. The pre-campaign heats up with Laporta.

The Rest of the Pre-Candidates Await Calmly

While Laporta has a clear idea, the rest of the pre-candidates don't seem to be too concerned about the former president's appearance. In fact, they consider it positive. "It is true that it may be more difficult to gather signatures from members since the more candidates there are, the signatures must be distributed more widely. However, this doesn't mean that Laporta won't face challenges from other candidates who will clarify the path for the rest," some of the pre-candidates agreed this weekend. They hope to be present on the final election day, July 18. No pre-campaign events are scheduled for this morning. Everyone is waiting to see what Laporta's morning message will be.