Less than a week apart, the Penya Blaugrana Foment Martinenc (Federació de Penyes del Barcelonès Est) organised two activities at its headquarters that demonstrate its strong commitment to the literary sphere, always linked to the world of football and, of course, to all the Barça universe.
The first is the Literary Contest, one of the most popular initiatives of the supporters’ club headed by Àngel Pérez and located in the Barcelona neighbourhood of San Martí de Provençals. Coinciding with the celebration of its 69th anniversary, the PB Foment Martinenc announced the winners of this short story competition with a Barça theme, which this year reached its 8th edition. The event was attended by around a hundred people and was hosted by Xavier Saisó, a journalist from Cadena SER. Carles Ribas won the first prize, Joan Biscarri the second, and Joana Luna the third, with Olga Martínez winning the prize for the best text presented by a member of a penya. In total, 700 euros in prizes were awarded.
History of the Selecció Catalana
The second event at the PB Foment Martinenc was the presentation of the book ‘Historia de la Selecció Catalana’, written by the journalist Toni Closa -who is part of the jury of the aforementioned Literary Contest- and the FIFA agent José Alberto Salas. The event once again filled the penya’s headquarters and was attended by the two authors of the book, who explained their research and investigation process to complete the work. Among those attending the presentation were Xavier Gamper, grandson of the founder of FC Barcelona, among others.
‘Historia de la Selección Catalana’ exhaustively reviews the 120 years of history of the Catalan men’s national football team, with detailed information on the more than 200 matches played between 1903 and 2022, the coaches and managers who have trained the team, and the records of the nearly 1,000 players who have played or have been called up. You can also find statistics of all kinds, as well as a detailed list of all the presidents of the Catalan Football Federation since its foundation.
