At a press conference at the Fira Palace hotel in Barcelona earlier today, 27-years old Catalan hotel executive Alexis Plaza has officially confirmed that he will run for president of Barcelona in the elections that will be held on Sunday 13 June:"I present myself as candidate for president of FC Barcelona in 2010 with the desire of representing the young people and to unite all Barcelona fans in the same dream. We think that we are the present and the future of the club. We want to build our tomorrow.
We ask people for their trust - as happens with the youth players - to be able to collect the fruits of our efforts in a not too distant future. Our project has something that makes us different: we're young people and this group has never been represented by a board. We are the ones who have the most dreams for Barça and don't see the club as a business.
All groups of supporters should be welcome at the Camp Nou if there is no violence. We do not agree with all that has happened to Laporta. But if they behave well and follow certain rules of conduct, they are welcome. We have a lot groups that arescattered, like the Boix Nois, Sang Culé and Almogàvers, and we want to unite all of them at a single area of the stadium.
We have an initial budget of 2.000 euros, but sufficient resources to obtain the necessary signatures and to participate until the end. We know it won't be easy but we are ready. To collect the signatures, you have to convince the club members, you don't have to buy anything. We can show that we can improve the economic situation of Barcelona."
After studies in Switzerland and a first working experience in London, Alexis Plaza is currently an executive at the Le Méridien hotel in the centre of Barcelona. His great grandfather, Pere Marcet, was one of the founding members of FC Barcelona in 1899 and a board member of the club from 1919 until 1922.
Alexis Plaza is a club member of Barcelona for 25 years and has been a ball boy at the Camp Nou. He is at this moment active at the foundation of FC Barcelona and a member of the association of former players. Ahead of this election, he started the 'Somni Blaugrana' [Blaugrana Dream] project.
The mother of Plaza is currently married to Welsh national team manager and former football player John Benjamin Toshack, who assisted today's press conference [picture below] and has in the past been in charge of several Spanish teams, among which Real Madrid.
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[picture below: eleccionsfcb.com]
