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FC Barcelona
24/07/2008
The First Minister has extended a warm welcome to one of Europe's largest football clubs, FC Barcelona, on its return to Scotland.
The Catalan giants arrived in St Andrews on this week for their pre-season training. The team will play Hibs at Murrayfield this evening and Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday July 26 before returning to Barcelona on Sunday.
The First Minister hosted a reception for FC Barcelona this afternoon in Bute House, Edinburgh.
He said:
"Barcelona first came to Scotland last year to undertake pre-season training. It was a great success as proven by this year's return of one of Europe's most successful and famous football clubs.
"This afternoon I presented the Directors of Barcelona FC with their own tartan, commissioned by the Club in partnership with VisitScotland, in the unmistakeable Barca colours. The Barca Tartan, made by Ingles Buchan, has been officially registered by the Scottish Tartans Authority.
"Scotland is a welcoming and attractive country for talent from across the world and the fact that the Catalan giants have chosen to train in Scotland should encourage other major European teams to do likewise. We are delighted that Barcelona's first class players have enjoyed their time here and we hope to welcome them back again next year."
Albert Perrin, representative of FC Barcelona in Scotland and member of the board of Directors said:
"We are very happy to be back in Scotland for a second year. The conditions here in Scotland are perfect for training and last year we received a great welcome from the Scottish fans. It is wonderful to strengthen the ties between Scotland and Catalunya, and it is an honour to be received by the First Minister, Mr Alex Salmond, during our stay. On behalf of the club, I would like to thank Mr Salmond and all the Scottish people for their generous welcome."
Maeve Buckley, Chief Executive of Platinum One, said:
"We are delighted to be bringing the world's most famous football team back to Scotland for the second time. Last year's event not only delivered £7m to the local economy, but also further strengthened ties between Scotland and Catalunya.
"For FC Barcelona the week provided the perfect conditions for the first week of their pre-season training and they were more than happy to appoint PLATINUM ONE as their official pre-season partner for the second year in a row in 2008. We would like to thank Visit Scotland and the Scottish Government for making this event such a success."