By David Gold
June 16 – European and Spanish champions Barcelona will keep the UNICEF logo on the club shirt for the 2011-2012 season, but on the back, beneath the name and number of each player, they have announced following criticism that it was being removed from the front.
The club signed a deal with UNICEF to promote their charity back in 2006 but last year the club reached a sponsorship agreement with the Qatar Foundation, which drew criticism from Dutch legend and former Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff.
The agreement with UNICEF, whose logo appeared in place of a paid sponsor on the famous red and blue striped shirts, was due to end this month, and so it was unclear whether the arrangement would continue.
In a statement on the club website, Barcelona said: “In the last five years, FC Barcelona has given its support to UNICEF to improve the living conditions of hundreds of thousands of children, and helped him reach a global audience to the work of UNICEF.
“The next phase of this collaboration, which is still under discussion, is to harness the social impact of the Club to support a global movement for education and sport, with tangible results for the benefit of children.
“UNICEF and FC Barcelona want to take this unprecedented partnership to a new phase to improve the living conditions of vulnerable children worldwide.”
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