MADRID, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Barcelona’s members backed the club’s controversial sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment on Saturday, the final hurdle to securing a cash injection of as much as 170 million euros ($230 million).
Members gathered at the Spanish and European champions’general assembly voted 697 in favour of the record five-year deal, the biggest for any soccer club, with 76 against and 36 blank votes, the club said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.cat).
Barca president Sandro Rosell and his board of directors had been lobbying members to vote in favour of the agreement amid criticism the club was compromising its ideals by taking money from an unsavoury regime.
MADRID, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Barcelona’s members backed the club’s controversial sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment on Saturday, the final hurdle to securing a cash injection of as much as 170 million euros ($230 million).
Members gathered at the Spanish and European champions’general assembly voted 697 in favour of the record five-year deal, the biggest for any soccer club, with 76 against and 36 blank votes, the club said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.cat).
Barca president Sandro Rosell and his board of directors had been lobbying members to vote in favour of the agreement amid criticism the club was compromising its ideals by taking money from an unsavoury regime.
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=reu-spainbarcelonaqatar