LaLiga: Barcelona presidential elections to take place on 24 January

Barcelona will hold elections for a new president on 24 January, the club said yesterday, following former chief Josep Maria Bartomeu’s resignation early this year. Bartomeu stepped down in August after the Catalan giants had been unsettled by a transfer request from their star player Lionel Messi. One of the front runners Joan Laporta, who was at the helm of Barca from 2003-2010, a period which included four La Liga titles and two Champions League triumphs, has already announced he will run for the office. Potential candidates must collect 2,257 support signatures with a list to be drawn up on 14 December and made official on 23 December. An election campaign will be fought over 15-23 January before the club’s stake-holding members vote either at their Camp Nou stadium or in regional offices across the country.