President of FC Barcelona inaugurates football academy in Bucharest

The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, was present on Tuesday, October 8, in Bucharest at the Arcul de Triumf Sports Complex for the inauguration of the Barcelona Academy.

The club official’s presence in Romania surprised attendees, as Laporta had already attended the retirement of legend Andres Iniesta in Spain the same day. In Bucharest, he met with Florin Răducioiu, the president of Barcelona Academy Romania and held a speech at the inauguration of the center.

"I also want to mention Mr. Iordănescu. He is a reference point in football, and, moreover, Romania is a footballing country,” Laporta said, after first thanking Răducioiu. “You've touched my heart; I wish I knew how to speak Romanian,” he added, according to G4Media.

During the speech, the Catalan leader also highlighted some of the aspects that define Barca Academy and noted the importance of getting young people into sports.

“We want these children to learn our true style of playing football. Players like Gavi, Balde, Yamal, and Cubarsi came from Barcelona's academy. They learned the same style that the children from the Romanian academy will learn. I believe that through football, we can make the world a better place,” he said.

At the end of his speech, Joan Laporta mentioned Romanian football legends Gică Hagi and Gică Popescu, along with other big names associated with Barcelona. The event concluded with a group photo, where Laporta was surrounded by many children from the academy.

Afterwards, the Spanish president stayed to sign autographs until the training sessions began on the football field. Coaches from the club already came to Bucharest in previous months and began training future footballers.

The Barcelona Academy in Romania is the 29th in the world and only the 5th in Europe, after those in Barcelona, Budapest, Istanbul, and Zurich. It is also not the first time that Barcelona sets up camps for youths in Romania. The last time this happened was in 2019, at FCSB’s base in Berceni.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Bogdan Buda)