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Please go to the new FC Barcelona site for all of the information regarding the club. |
FC BARCELONA (PENYA CA.) & NORTH COUNTY UNITED Merge! Club Program Director Rachid Elbekraoui to Assume All Soccer Related Responsibilities. The Unified Club Remains Committed to Local Play as well as Development in North County, San Diego (Vista, Oceanside, San Marcos). BarNike Cup Scheduled for Temecula in late August. San Diego - FC Barcelona - Penya CA. (BarPenya CA.) Program Director Rachid Elbekraoui and SoCal Athletics, Inc. (NC United) President, Scott Phillips, announced the merger today after weeks of discussion and planning. Says SoCal Athletics President Scott Phillips, After qualifying 5 premier teams in the last 5 years SoCal Athletics has been looking for a quality program and curriculum partner for our soccer club, North County United. We remain very committed to retaining and developing the local soccer talent along the 78 corridor. In order to achieve this we felt that we needed to take our soccer development program to another level. With Rachid, we are not only getting a highly qualified soccer mind that has a masters degree in business management, but someone with the knowledge of having developed two successful soccer clubs (Southwest Soccer Club and TVSA Hawks) both of which compete in the Coast Soccer and Presidio Soccer Leagues. We are very excited to be involved with a program that has the same local development goals as we do and shares our community outreach objectives but also recognizes a larger responsibility beyond fielding high quality teams. We are developing student-athletes with the student as the priority. Our staff is very excited to work closely with Rachid to achieve these goals. Rachid Elbekraoui, BarPenya Ca. Program Director offers this, I have always wanted to be a part of an organization in which athletes are students first, with athletic achievements being the bridge to their future college education. We also pride ourselves to be an organization that recognizes the need to separate the athletic goals of the club while maintaining solid business practices that support it. I have had the opportunity to watch North County United grow over the past two years into, certainly, the best quality soccer program in the Vista/Oceanside/San Marcos area and understand the constant need to offer better curriculum to our members. I look forward to achieving our goals with Bars dedicated staff. BarPenya CA. will have offices in Temecula and Vista/Oceanside to support their club members and looks to grow into other regions as well. Teams will train and compete in geographically convenient locations but will also be developing select teams to compete in major tournaments across the US, Canada, Mexico, South America and Europe. The club will also be expanding their recreation leagues, futsol leagues and training in the clubs 28,000 square foot training center in Oceanside. The BarNike Cup in late August will be supporting two universal interestsBreast Cancer Research for the girls weekend and UNICEF for the boys weekend. The club mission is to have all players complete by age 16, to support their goal of representing their high school soccer programs, and to use soccer as a stepping stone for their future college aspirations. Adds Rachid, We are providing the student-athlete with a step ladder to their future goals. We expect to compete for National and International titles but that will not interfere with our goal of putting out quality students and citizens first. Tryouts for the 2008 season are ongoing. Please feel free to contact us thru either Club website: FC Barcelona - Penya CA. (www.fcbarcelonana.org) or SoCal Athletic, Inc. (www.ncunited.com) Note: SoCal Athletics is 501(c)(3) non-profit California Corporation based in San Diego. We specialize in the development and administration of competitive youth sports clubs. Contact Scott Phillips at 760-477-7547 or sphillips@socalathletics.com with questions. About FC Barcelona (www.fcbarcelona.com) FC Barcelona (Bar was founded in 1899 and today is more than a club. In Spain, it is the club that most represents the nation and is also one of its greatest ambassadors. For different reasons, Baris also more than a club for many people living outside of Spain, who see it as a symbol of democratic rights and freedom. With the global phenomenon that football has become today and the impact of TV rights, we have seen a dramatic increase in Bars worldwide popularity, with more and more club members coming from beyond Catalonia and Spain. Barhas the largest Fan Club Program (Penya) in the world and it grows daily. To capitalize on this and driven by its desire to become more than a club around the world, Barbecame the first Club in the history of the game to have taken on a humanitarian mission. It has partnered with UNICEF to set up an international cooperation program to fight world hunger, to support the UN Millennium Development goal, and to show commitment to UNICEF's humanitarian aid programs by donating 1.5 million euros annually for the next five years. The club also made the decision to wear the UNICEF logo on its jerseys, forgoing one of the club's greatest traditions. About FC Barcelona - Penya CA. (www.fcbarcelonana.org) FC Barcelona - Penya CA. is a recognized member of FC Barcelona. Since its inception, it has endeavored to develop a soccer organizational philosophy and methodology that serves two purposes. To be the foundation of an elite Youth Soccer Organization, and, to uphold the standards of excellence of the most prestigious Professional Soccer Club in the world, FC Barcelona. With this in mind, BarPenya CA. has developed the Mas Que Una Penya (More than a Fan Club) philosophy that defines our business structure and our technical structure including coaching and player development. Over the past several years, we have thoroughly tested and developed our program. Our results speak for themselves as well as an established national reputation that attracts the best players, coaches and sponsors. Not withstanding our affiliation and ability to interact with FC Barcelona through joint innovative programs and exchanges. In that spirit, BarPenya CA. is exploring ways to share these benefits and knowledge with select qualified soccer clubs throughout the United States as Members. Through a program of technical, administrative and intellectual property exchange, BarPenya CA. hopes to create a National-level soccer co-operative system that will benefit its Partners directly.
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