The Confederació Mundial de Penyes hosted a new edition of the conference aimed at American students at its headquarters. This time, it welcomed young people from several U.S. universities, such as the University of Massachusetts, the University of California, and Texas A&M University, among others. Through this talk, they learned about the key factors that have turned Barça fandom and the penyes movement into much more than just a football crowd worldwide, making it an internationally recognized organization.
The conference was led by Vicenç Notari, treasurer of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes. In an organized and chronological manner, Notari presented the students the most relevant events from the early years of FC Barcelona, not only from a sporting perspective but also from cultural, social, and political angles within the Catalan context. In this framework, the penyes movement has played a prominent role and helps explain the deep meaning of the well-known expression “Més que un Club” (More than a Club) that identifies FC Barcelona.
This initiative was launched in 2014, driven by the Penya Barcelonista La Guineu and the Penya Blaugrana Foment Martinenc (Federació Barcelonès Est), with the support of Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Eleven years later, the Confederació continues this activity, which still arouses great interest among American students eager to discover the factors behind the global impact of Barça fandom.
