When it comes to football, everyone’s heard of FC Barcelona. After all, how could any sports fan not be aware of one of the strongest teams in the world for the sport? Also known as Barça, this team takes its long history of sporting in Spain and shows its prowess amongst European football teams. In 2015, the FC Barcelona Museum was yet again the most visited museums in Catalonia – even ahead of the Picasso museum and MACBA. If you’re keen to see explore the legendary grounds, you could take a stadium tour with the Camp Nou Experience. And of course, we bring you all the essential information about Barça matches, getting tickets for a Barça game and visiting Camp Nou.
The History
FC Barcelona was founded in 1899 by a group of foreigners who were riding the wave of rising popularity of British sports. A man named Joan Gamper was named the clubs founder, and served as the inspiration and driving force behind the club for its first 25 years. At the time of its founding, FC Barcelona was created with many sports including handball, futsal, and others. These sports and more have become a part of the club today, and although football is the most well known team, these others are no pushover either.
At around 1908, the club was in a crisis due to 38 of its members threatening abandonment. In an effort to stabilize the club and turn the crisis around, Gamper became the first president of the club. After becoming acting president, Gamper soon got to work on improving the club, which consisted of activities such as increasing its members, re-writing the club statutes, and acquiring the club’s own football grounds for the first time. FC Barcelona strengthened from these efforts, and because of the successes and recognition from the club, football was named a professional sport in Spain. It was really during this time that Barça laid down its roots in Barcelona, as the club expanded from 201 members to 2,973 in less than ten years. Not only was the club expanding in quantity in members, but also quality; it was around this time that legendary goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora joined the team and left his mark on both the club as well as the world of football. It was clear at that time that the club of FC Barcelona would play a large part in the booming sport of football.
At the beginning of Spain’s Civil War, FC Barcelona encountered some problems. Due to the fact that it had 
become such a large figure in the culture of Barcelona, and the fact that created social, political, and cultural reform, the club was threatened with having the club taken away from them. The political instability in Spain, as well as events such as Gamper’s death, affected FC Barcelona negatively as memberships were reduced and some players’ contracts cancelled. After the war, the club subjected by the army and authorities to several purges. The players of FC Barcelona were affected in a huge way: anyone who had gone on tour to Mexico and the United States was suspended for two years, while many of these players were exiled while abroad. However, the team continued to struggle on with more title victories, bringing hope to the people of Barcelona. It was also at this time that the club’s coat of arms and name were changed, because they were not seen as being sufficiently “Spanish”.
After their period of crisis, FC Barcelona began a huge project to construct what is now their home: Camp Nou. This internationally-known stadium was inaugurated in September of 1957, and has the largest capacity in Europe of 98,772 spectators. Following the construction of Camp Nou, FC Barcelona had an ever-increasing membership; due to the economic problems and irregular sporting success, however, the club was unable to sign big players and struggled to reclaim their former glory.
It was around this time that Barça realized they needed to change 
something. In 1969, Agustí Costa became the new president of the club. He was very adamant in increasing member involvement and turning FC Barcelona into a democracy, where everyone’s vote counts. He truly believed that “Barça is more than a club”, and showed this by defending the restoration of Catalanism and its culture. As the scene of Barcelona’s football improved, some of FC Barcelona’s other sports also began showing victories, including the roller hockey and hockey teams.
As the club continued to expand over the next several years to over one hundred thousand members, FC Barcelona returned to one of the top positions in the world by winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup for the first time. In fact, the Barça team was doing so well that they were considered the “dream team” of footballers from 1988 on due to their numerous successes, including four consecutive Spanish League championships. From this point to today, Barcelona has only become more prosperous and well known as they continue to dominate the European football world.
Museum
Luckily for you football fans out there, at Camp Nou’s own museum there is a lot more information on the history, awards, and about the club itself. The museum itself is split up into three separate sections with a 3D cinema, audiovisual touchscreen, and information on the history of FC Barcelona. The first section has photos, documents, and trophies detailing the club’s history on an interactive wall, and tells about the specifics of the history of Barça and the awards that the prestigious club has won. The second section is a private art collection of pieces by local artists such as Dalí, Miró, and Tàpies, while the third section displays football memorabilia from throughout the history of the club, such as the 6 cups won in one season, as well as some of the golden boot awards won by players such as Lionel Messi.
If you want to visit the museum and explore the legendary playing field of Barça, buy tickets to the Tour Camp Nou Experience. This exclusive look at Camp Nou takes you through the museum inside Camp Nou with an optional audio guide, then take a tour of the stadium itself. The tour will take you to places such as the visitors’ changing room and the tunnel onto the pitch, to see first-hand what the players experience in each game. Also visit the television studio, the mixed zone, the press room, and the commentary boxes, all in a 1.5-hour tour that is sure to be worth your time.
Matches
Just hearing about Barça not good enough for you? Make sure to go to one of the many FC Barcelona games, and watch one of the best teams in the world work their magic. As Barcelona recently celebrates their new record of 29 games in a row unbeaten, fans are only getting more and more excited about what this season has in store. While Barça plays every few days for the next month or so, take a look here to see the upcoming home matches. Pay attention especially to the Barcelona vs. Real Madrid game, also known as El Clásico, as this is the most celebrated and anticipated game of the year! Tickets usually vary depending on the opposing team and your location in Camp Nou, so make sure to look at the prices and remember to buy it early! Even if it seems like there are not any tickets available at the moment, over the days leading up to each game season ticket holders will “free” up their seats, making them available to the general public (this happens most often during the 48 hours before a match). It also might not be possible to buy tickets right next to each other if you are purchasing more than one ticket, so buy ones that are somewhat close to each other and often times there might be an empty seat next to one that you can move to instead. If not, then you will be able to see each other during breaks and half time.
A couple of tips for those of you who haven’t been fortunate enough to see our team in action:
- Bring a camera! Photography is allowed in the stadium, and each game is sure to be something you won’t want to forget.
- Travel light and get ready for some movement, as the crowd is constantly getting up and down depending on the action.
- Get there a little bit early, and try to avoid the last-minute rush of the crowds.
- Food is allowed in the stadium; however, cans and bottles with lids are not. Even if you don’t bring food the snacks sold inside the stadium are fairly cheap.
- Learn the chants! Each Barça game is fairly interactive, and the supporters often sing chants. This can be a very fun experience for everyone, so brush up on your knowledge here!
- Most importantly, have fun! It’s sure to be an unforgettable experience.
