Barcelona resists calls to postpone election
Barcelona has ratified 25 January (AEDT) as the date for its presidential elections despite calls for it to be postponed amid rising cases of coronavirus.
The region of Catalonia has recently imposed new restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 infections, with certain rules tightened for 10 days as of 8 January.
While that does not interfere with the previously agreed date for the election, there had been increasing calls for it to be postponed due to fears certain members would not be able to vote as a result.
Former Barca vice-president Jordi Cardoner was among those in favour of issuing a delay, suggesting in an interview with Sport that to not postpone the election would be to show "a lack of respect and an attack on the health of our members".
But Barca confirmed on Thursday that the date of January 24 and "all procedures" have been accepted by the local authorities.
As part of a statement, Barca confirmed: "The board has also ratified January 24 as the date for the elections and that all procedures have been accepted by the Generalitat de Catalunya, in liaison with the Ministries for Health, the Interior, Sport and Procedure.
"All efforts have been made to ensure that the pre-candidates can collect support slips under the best possible conditions and with as much time as available."
