It is a historic agreement and it makes perfect sense: FC Barcelona is more than a club (“mas que un club”) so it takes more than a common company to sponsor it. For decades, the proud club has refused to carry advertising on the players’ jerseys (and has turned down numerous lucrative offers), now it has broken this tradition whilst maintaining its high moral standards:
On Thursday, the club inked a five-year deal with UNICEF at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Under the agreement, which will bear the slogan "Barcelona, more than a club, a new global hope for vulnerable children," the Catalan team will contribute to the financing of UNICEF humanitarian projects and endorse UNICEF on its shirts. Barcelona, the only major European team not to wear an advertisement, has in the past negotiated with Chinese authorities to advertise the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and Austrian online betting company BetandWin. Neither deal was finalized. Club president Joan Laporta then announced that the team had ruled out any type of commercial shirt sponsorship and would instead seek to promote a humanitarian message: "FC Barcelona is not only a football club, but a club with a soul.”
The 'Canto del Barça,' the club hymn that is played before every team home match as the players enter the field at the Camp Nou stadium, was played at the headquarters of the United Nations on Thursday. Just after 11pm, the club shirt was paraded with the UNICEF logo emblazoned across the chest. In 1971 Pau Casals played 'Cant dels Ocells' in the same arena in a call for world peace.
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