| Barcelona is a city long in love with sports, | | | | Team. The Barcelona team has qualified every |
| especially the Barcelona Soccer Team. | | | | year for the European competition since it |
| | | | was founded in 1955. |
| In addition to hosting the 1992 Summer | | | | |
| Olympics, Barcelona hosted parts of the 1982 | | | | The club motto is "Més que un club" and |
| Football World Cup and has hosted the X FINA | | | | they refer to their stadium as "Camp Nou." In |
| World Championship and Eurobasket. The city | | | | English these are "More than a club" and "Our |
| has two UEFA 5-star rated football stadiums: | | | | Ground." Despite a slump at the turn of the |
| FC Barcelona's Nou Camp and the Estadi | | | | century, FC Barcelona has assembled a |
| OlÃmpic LluÃs Companys. | | | | talented team and once again resumed winning |
| | | | ways. The club currently has a five-year deal |
| FC Barcelona's soccer team is almost a way of | | | | with UNICEF, wearing the emblem on their |
| life in Barcelona. The rivalry with Madrid | | | | jerseys and paying $1.9 million a year for |
| rises almost to the point where Barcelona can | | | | the privilege. |
| be considered the Catalonia national team. FC | | | | |
| Barca was founded on 29 November 1899 by Joan | | | | Among the many claims to fame of the Barca |
| Gamper, who created the team colors of blue | | | | team are that it has more victories than any |
| and claret from the Swiss canton in which he | | | | other Association Football team in the world. |
| lived. Barcelona lost its first ever match | | | | They also have more wins in the Copa del Rey, |
| with some English expatriates 0-1, but within | | | | the Spanish tournament, than any other team |
| ten years began a string of Catalan and | | | | with 24 victories. There are 18 La Liga |
| Spanish championships lasting decades. FC | | | | Championships, 7 Supercopa de Espana, 2 EUFA |
| Barcelona went though tough times in the rise | | | | Champions League, 4 EUFA Winner's Cups, 3 |
| to the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath, | | | | Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, 1 Inter-City Fairs |
| but was able to recover and by the mid 1940s | | | | Cup Trophy Play-off, 2 European Super Cups, 2 |
| resumed its championship ways. | | | | Copa Latina, 4 Copa de Oro Argentina, 22 |
| | | | Catalan Championships, 2 Copa Martina Rossi, |
| FC Barcelona is a sports club containing | | | | 4 Coupe de Pyrenees, 1 Mediteranean League, 2 |
| basketball, handball, hockey, ice-hockey, | | | | Copa de Ligua, 1 Copa Barcelona, 1 Lligua |
| figure skating, indoor football, rugby, | | | | Catalana, 5 Copa Catalana and one Little |
| baseball, volleyball and women's football, | | | | World Cup. It is little wonder Barcelona has |
| but the jewel in the crown has always been | | | | embraced the Barcelona Soccer Team and |
| association football, or the Barcelona Soccer | | | | reveres it as a symbol of Catalonia. |