After losing out on Barça presidency to Joan Laporta, Victor Font held his concession speech, announcing Laporta president-elect at the halfway counting mark.
“Well, I want to start, of course, by congratulating Joan Laporta, the president-elect, for his undeniable victory at the polls today,” Font began.
“Secondly, I would also like to give my sincere thanks to the more than 40,000 members who mobilized today and showed the world that we are the best club in the world, and that we are fortunate to still be able to decide who leads the institution,” he continued.
“Obviously, I also want to especially thank all those members who supported our “candidacy for change.” We are truly grateful for the trust they placed in us.”
“That said, it is more than obvious that we did not achieve the results we had hoped for. That is very clear, and you can understand that. But I also want to point out that we would have liked participation to have been even higher than it was,” Font remarked, referring to the 42.34% turnout for the election.
“I believe that from this process, which ends today, we can perhaps draw the conclusion that we hope this will be the last time elections at FC Barcelona have such a long and complicated process before the election itself, as well as on the day of voting, as we have experienced this time.”
“We must modernize, we must professionalize the institution, and we hope that will be the case.”
“In fact, we contacted his (Joan Laporta’s) communications director, but he hasn’t replied, so I hope I’ll be able to do it in person.”
• Will you be in opposition then?
“Well, more than opposition, I think it’s about what’s best for the club. I’ve always said that when there are elections at Barça, the figure of an “opponent” doesn’t add anything. I think that now the president who has won the vote should have all our support.”
“Everything we have worked on over these last years we are once again placing at the club’s disposal. If the club can make use of any of the ideas or work we have done, that’s what they’re there for.”
“Beyond that, I think it will obviously be important that there continue to be members who also provide a counterpoint to the official narrative. And in those cases where we believe things could be done better, we should be able to contribute value in the most constructive way possible, without trying to destabilize the club—because that is what, I repeat, makes us different.”
• Is the defeat bigger than you might have predicted?
“Well, we were going [to elections] to win, so imagine that. But in the end it’s clear that, as I said, results speak for themselves, and that has outweighed everything else.”
“…And thank you very much. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all the media outlets for the coverage you’ve given. These have been complicated weeks because the sporting news cycle was dominant—very dominant—but even so, we’re grateful that we were able to reach the members through you.”
“So, thank you very much, and we’ll see each other again.”
Joan Laporta won the elections, called at the halfway point, with 69% of the counted votes to his name.
