Supporters of FC Barcelona
The Supporters of FC Barcelona are known as
culers. In
Spain, about 20% of the population are said to be Barça sympathisers.
FC Barcelona also has large support abroad, especially in
Latin America,
The Netherlands,
Morocco and
Japan. Since the 2003/04 club membership figures have seen a significant increase. In May 2006 the number of club members or
socis in
Catalan surpassed 140,000. In addition to this, there are about 1782 (as of June 2006) officially registered
FC Barcelona penyes or peñas around the world .Current spanish chief of government (
Presidente del Gobierno)
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is one of its most prominent supporters.
Culers
|
Group of Culers at the Carrer Industria |
Until 1909 the team played in various stadiums, none of them owned by the club. On March 14 1909, the 6,000 seat stadium of
Carrer Industria opened its door. This was the first ground owned by the club. In 1922 the club moved to
Les Corts. This stadium had an initial capacity of 20,000, later expanded to an impressive 60,000. It was during these early years in these stadiums that Barça fans acquired their nickname the
Culers (pronounced /kuˈles/). Roughly translated from
Catalan, it means
arses. Far from being offensive, the name refers to fans seated in the highest row of the stadium. From outside passers-by could only see their
arses. Barça fans have been referred to
Culers ever since. In
Spanish this word is written as
culés, and sometimes it is also written like this in English.
Penyes
The
penyes are a combination of supporters club and action group. The original
Penya Solera was formed in 1944 by a collection of former
FC Barcelona players and supporters, including
Josep Samitier. It was originally a support group to help raise funds, during a time when the club faced financial hardship. One of the most notorious Barça
penyes is the
Boixos Nois which uses a bulldog as its logo. Founded in the early 1980s, its members include nationalist skinheads. The group is known for its anti-
Real Madrid sentiment and its dislike of their equivalents the
Ultra Sur. Originally the group was meant to be called the
crazy boys but a spelling mistake saw them named the
boxwood boys.
*
FC Barcelona Persian Supporters *
FC Barcelona Videos*
Zona Barça - Unofficial Spanish Site*
FC Barcelona web *
Official Website*
English speaking Barça fans*
FC Barcelona English Speaking Supporters*
FC Barcelona Spanish Supporters*
FC Barcelona Norwegian Supporters *
FC Barcelona Russian Supporters*
FC Barcelona Arabic Supporters*
Visca el Barça! - Unofficial Polish Site *
Barça Serwis - Unofficial Polish Site *
FC Barcelona Clan Penya Officielle Francophone *
FC Barcelona Web - norwegian/danish Barça supporters *
Barcelona FC Photo Gallery*
FC Barcelona Israeli Supporters *
FC Barcelona Russian-speaking supporters club *
Penya Barcelonista New York City Nevada Smiths
