© EuroFootball.com
During a specially organized press conference on Friday, the vice president of the Catalan club for economic affairs, Javier Faus, confirmed that they signed a contract with the "Qatar Foundation" for advertising on the jerseys.
The new agreement will take effect in this current season, 2010-2011.
The non-profit organization "Qatar Foundation," founded in 1995, supports educational projects, funds various scientific research, and cares for education.
It is reported that the new agreement with "Barcelona" will be valid until 2016 and will annually add 30 million euros to the budget of the Catalan team. This deal for jersey advertising is the most expensive in the world.
It is not yet reported where and how the logo of "Qatar Foundation" will be displayed, but it is already certain that it will replace the UNICEF logo on the "Barcelona" jerseys. The collaboration between "Barcelona" and this organization will continue, and UNICEF will be promoted in other ways. Additionally, the Catalan club will continue to allocate funds to support UNICEF humanitarian missions.
According to Barcelona's vice president Faus, the agreement reached "perfectly reflects the club's value and importance in the world."
In its entire 111-year history, "Barcelona" jerseys, known as "blaugrana," had never been adorned with commercial advertising. However, the "Qatar Foundation" is a non-profit organization, but this time, the Catalan club will receive a substantial reward for the jersey advertisement.
In 2006, "Barcelona" signed a collaboration agreement with UNICEF, but not only did they not receive any additional income for the organization's logo advertising, but they also allocated funds to UNICEF projects themselves.
