Barcelona extend deal with UNICEF which sees club pay charity £1.25m a year

The name of the charity is displayed on the back of the shirt

Agency
Tuesday 12 November 2013 10:03 EST
Comments
Barcelona players, including Cesc Fabregas, celebrate a goal
Barcelona players, including Cesc Fabregas, celebrate a goal (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Barcelona have extended to 2016 a deal with UNICEF under which the La Liga side pay £1.25-a-year to display the name of the United Nations Children's Fund on the back of their shirts.

The current agreement was due to expire next year and the Barca directors approved a two-year extension at a board meeting today, the Spanish champions said on their website.

Barca and UNICEF first joined forces in 2006 and Barca's Argentine World Player of the Year Lionel Messi is one of the fund's global goodwill ambassadors.

The club used to have the UNICEF name on the front of their shirts, which made them one of the few sides in football not to display a corporate logo.

They agreed a sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment worth 30 million euros a season in 2011 and the shirts now feature the name of airline Qatar Airways.

Dropping the UNICEF name to the back was controversial and prompted accusations the club was selling out and compromising their ideals for material gain.

Barca officials argued that the injection of cash at a delicate time for the club's finances was needed to help fund the development of their sports teams and help them compete with wealthy rivals.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in