Supporters of FC Barcelona

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 the United States, Latin America, the Netherlands, Morocco, and Japan. Since the 2003/04 season, the club's membership figures have seen a significant increase. In September 2006, the number of club members, or socis, in Catalan, surpassed 150,000. In addition to this, there are about 1782 (as of June 2006) officially registered FC Barcelona penyes around the world. The current president of the Spanish government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is one of the club's most prominent supporters.

Group of Culers at the Carrer Industria Stadium
Group of Culers at the Carrer Industria Stadium

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 Indústria opened its doors. 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 /kuˈlɛs/). Roughly translated from Catalan, it means arse people. Far from being offensive, the name refers to fans seated in the highest row of the stadium. From outside, people who passed by could only see their arses. Barça fans have been referred to as Culers ever since. In Spanish, this word is written as culés, and sometimes it is also written like this in English.

The penyes are a combination of club supporters and action groups. 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. The name is a pun with boig, meaning crazy, and Can Boixeres, the name of a neighbourhood near to the Stadium where the Nois (guys) used to hung out before and after the matches, and not a misspelling of Bojos Nois, as it is commonly believed.

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