Joan Laporta welcomes participants to Sports Tomorrow Congress (WOM+N) 2021

The president of FC Barcelona, ​​Joan Laporta, spoke at the closing of the first day of the Sports Tomorrow Congress (WOM+N) 2021, the sports innovation congress organized by the Barça Innovation Hub and which is being held this week on the FC Barcelona premises.

Laporta addressed more than a hundred attendees in the marquee where the networking sessions are taking place at the end of each day of the congress.

He highlighted the effort made every year, and for five years now, by the Barça Innovation Hub to organize the congress, which has become a benchmark in the sector. He emphasized FC Barcelona's duty to be a pioneer and to always be at the forefront in order to compete with other clubs. "Our financial income only comes from what we generate through the sports industry itself” he said. “We don't have a large corporation behind us, no shareholders, no financial contributions beyond what we are able to generate, and that forces us to be imaginative, innovative, brave and to take different steps forward in many of the issues surrounding this sports industry, which is also evolving.”

Laporta pointed out that Barça is a club with 122 years of history that belongs to its almost 140,000 members, so decisions are made in a democratic and participatory manner. He added that "we must always be at the forefront and foster a culture of excellence and collaboration. Hence Barça has been the first club to promote initiatives such as the Sports Tomorrow Congress. Only in this way will we be able to help generate new knowledge and create innovative products and services that can benefit athletes, members, fans and society at large." He also emphasized the importance of FC Barcelona returning to society "everything that it has given the club".

In a congress in which women are the protagonists, the FC Barcelona president recalled the recent successes of the Barça women's team, which last year won its first Champions League as part of a historic treble, while advocating for equal representation in the world of sport. “Female athletes are gaining ground" he said. "And that is thanks to their effort and perseverance, and the world is watching them in admiration.” He added that it would be fair for the sports industry to treat them on an equal footing. "That's why we have opted to focus this congress on women athletes," he concluded.