Former Bartomeu board member to run as presidential candidate

A former member of the board of Josep Maria Bartomeu is set to run as a presidential candidate for Barcelona, according to a report from Catalan radio.

Xavi Vilajoana – who was responsible for the running of the club’s women’s team and the youth teams – is set to announce on Thursday that he is in the running, according to a report in Radio Kanal Barcelona.

Due to his position on the previous board, it appears that Vilajoana will represent some form of continuation from that era – even if his candidacy is not run on that platform.

Carlos Tusquets is the current interim president of the Blaugrana and he is likely to be in position until January at the earliest due to the complications of holding votes prior to that.

There are six confirmed candidates for the election, of which Victor Font is said to be the early favourite for the position, as outlined by ESPN Deportes.

The five others who have officially announced their intentions to stand for the post are Jordi Farré, Toni Freixa, Lluís Fernández Alá, Agustí Benedito and Pere Riera.

Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has previously confirmed he will also be running but is not yet included in the final list as he is yet to finalise his intentions.

Laporta – club president between 2003 and 2010 – lost out to previous incumbent Bartomeu in the 2015 elections, in the wake of Barca winning the treble.

Each candidate will need the signature approval of at least 2,257 members and to present a guaranteed payment of at least €124.2m to be considered.