Laporta and Font to Contest FC Barcelona Presidency After Ciria Falls Short

Barcelona, Spain – The race to become the next president of FC Barcelona has been whittled down to two contenders. Following the validation of candidacy signatures, the club’s Electoral Board confirmed that only Joan Laporta and Víctor Font will appear on the ballot for the March 15 elections, after Marc Ciria failed to clear the required threshold.

Laporta, who previously occupied the presidency from 2003 to 2010, delivered 8,169 signatures on Monday, of which 7,226 were validated. Font, leader of the Nosaltres platform, presented 5,144 signatures and secured 4,440 approvals. Both tallies comfortably surpassed the 2,337 valid endorsements demanded to advance.

Ciria, the third hopeful, submitted 2,844 signatures, but only enough were deemed valid to leave him short of the cutoff. His elimination sets up a head-to-head duel between two contrasting visions for the Catalan giants.

The official campaign period opens tomorrow, Friday, and will run through March 13. Club members will then cast their votes on March 15 to decide who will steer FC Barcelona for the next six-year term.