ONE announces FC Barcelona's return to Scotland
PLATINUM ONE ANNOUNCES FC BARCELONA’S RETURN TO SCOTLAND
Sports and Events company, Platinum One, has contracted with FC Barcelona to bring the Catalan giants back to Scotland in the summer for the second consecutive year. The agreement signed between the two organisations will see the full FC Barcelona first team squad return to St Andrews to conduct the first week of their pre-season schedule. The club will arrive in Scotland on Monday 21st and depart on Saturday 26th July.
As part of the agreement, FC Barcelona will also play two matches against Scottish Premier League opposition. On Thursday 24th July at 19:45 they will take on Hibernian FC at Murrayfield Stadium, the home of Scottish Rugby, and will conclude their visit with a match against Dundee United FC at Tannadice on Saturday 26th July, kick-off 16:00.
Maeve Buckley, Chief Executive of Platinum One Group, expressed Platinum One’s delight at bringing one of world football’s biggest clubs back to Scotland. “Following last year’s successful visit both FC Barcelona and Platinum One were adamant that the club return to Scotland. The FC Barcelona management, players and officials all agreed that the welcome offered by the people of Scotland coupled with the first class facilities Platinum One created at St Andrews were unsurpassable elsewhere.
Platinum One’s relationship with the club flourished during last year’s visit, and having received such high praise for our management of the event and the facilities we provided, we were delighted that an agreement was struck that will see the club return to Scotland with their full first team squad for a second straight year.”
Commenting on behalf of FC Barcelona, the club’s Sports Director, Txiki Begiristain said that everyone at the club was very much looking forward to returning to Scotland. “We are happy to come back to St Andrews taking in consideration that the experience from last year was more than positive. The facilities, the weather, the logistics, everything contributed to work in perfect conditions. They exceeded all of our expectations. I can confirm that the players were satisfied with the experience and are looking forward to come back this summer. Apart from the working conditions we also were happy to receive the warmth from the supporters and, in general, from everybody in St. Andrews. That was also very nice.”
First Minister Alex Salmond added his comments on the success of last summer’s visit and looked ahead to welcoming the club back to Scotland. “I am delighted that FC Barcelona will be returning to Scotland this summer. St Andrews is a stunning venue with excellent facilities for pre-season training. FC Barcelona is not the first and will certainly not be the last international sporting group to choose Scotland as its host. It is a pleasure to welcome visiting teams from around the world, particularly as we get ready to host the greatest sporting event Scotland has ever seen– the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.”
VisitScotland, which is a partner organisation to the event, will use the opportunity to highlight the benefits the Catalan side’s visit will bring to Scotland. Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland Marketing Director, said “VisitScotland is delighted to welcome Barcelona Football Club to Scotland. This allows us to showcase to the Spanish market and beyond the attractiveness of Scotland as both a leisure and business tourism destination.”
FC Barcelona’s schedule will mirror that of last year, with the team staying at the famous Old Course Hotel and training within the grounds of St Andrews University. Murrayfield Stadium and Tannadice will again accommodate both showcase fixtures, however, this year’s fixture at Murrayfield Stadium will see the Catalan side face Hibernian in the capital.
Hibernian Chief Executive, Scott Lindsay, said that he is looking forward to taking on FC Barcelona in Edinburgh. “We are delighted to be able to take part in a pre-season fixture against a team of FC Barcelona’s stature. The last time the two clubs met in Edinburgh was over forty years ago. That was a remarkable occasion and we fully expect this match to provide another fantastic experience for everyone involved.”
Dundee United Chief Executive Stephen Thompson is looking forward to Tannadice playing host to such world class opposition again - the fourth time that FC Barcelona has played at Dundee United's home ground. "Dundee United and FC Barcelona have a long standing connection, dating back to the first time we met in the Fairs Cup in 1966. Last year's experience was fantastic for the Club and our supporters, with tickets sold out in just days. We made many good friends and look forward to renewing acquaintances again in July."
Gordon McKie, Chief Executive of Scottish Rugby commented “ We are delighted to be able to once again host FC Barcelona and also to welcome Hibs to Murrayfield Stadium. Scottish Rugby is committed to attracting world class events to Murrayfield and we look forward to working with our key partners to ensure that this match is a wonderful success.”