Penya Blaugrana BanglaBarca becomes the first supporters club in Bangladesh to receive official recognition from FC Barcelona

Penya Blaugrana BanglaBara de Dhaka became the first-ever supporters club in Bangladesh to be officially recognized by FC Barcelona.

The supporters club received the official recognition on July 08, confirmed by an official announcement by FCB World Penyas' Federation.

A Penya is a home for all Barcelona fans in their community, where they could unite, and their passions could unwind. 

With its ability to transcend borders, a Penya also found its way to Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its humble beginnings can be found to have originated within the sacred walls of FC Barcelona Lovers Club  Bangladesh (FCBLCB). FCBLCB began as a Facebook group of Barcelona fans, more commonly known as a  Cule(s), and was created as a platform to unite themselves under one banner. The community's operations continued via FCBLCB.

Around 2012, however, the members came across the concept of the  "Penya". 

Fast forward to September 2018. Stymied by the complex and time-consuming process that needs to be completed to get a supporters' club officially recognized, members of the FCBLCB began their decade-long struggle.

Between the years 2012-2018, many different approaches to accomplish this difficult task were made, with no success to show for it. But, in September 2018, one final and fresh approach was made by the core group of members of FCBLCB, with only one goal in mind. Thus began a tiresome journey of two and a half years, a journey that saw them painstakingly navigate through various bureaucratic offices of Bangladesh and FC Barcelona.

At the end of it, the hard efforts led to triumph,  and the "Penya Blaugrana BanglaBarça de Dhaka" was formed. 

The journey to achieve official Penya status was arduous and long. Much needed to be mulled over and worked upon, beginning with the extremely rigorous registration process that FC Barcelona has.

The registration process included strict guidelines for verification of the many applicants seeking to officialize independent Penyas. Myriad strategies needed to be designed and many issues needed to be addressed to not only meet but also satisfy FC Barcelona's very specific requirements. Ample time was taken to go over and refine even the minutest details.

That it took about a month to just confirm the Penya name and the Logo should suffice to serve as an example of this.

Matters were further complicated with the onset of extenuating circumstances; FC Barcelona and the city of Barcelona went through the struggles of  Catalonian independence, FC Barcelona board elections, and, of course, the Covid-19 Global Pandemic.

Despite the many challenges, they remained undeterred. They resolved to see this through and persevered. 

The management team had received the news about a week prior, but it was on 8th July 2021 when the  FCB World Penyas' Federation made the official announcement, stating that, alongside 18 other Penyas across the world, Penya Blaugrana BanglaBarca de Dhaka had received official recognition.  

"It gives us immense joy to be able to welcome home the first official Penya of Barcelona in Bangladesh.  Our joy is shared within the entire Barca community, as the work was done for all the Cules in  Bangladesh. The celebratory mood within the community is a testament to how strongly this recognition is valued by them all.  

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us achieve this feat. The friends that we have made along the way have all contributed with their sincere support, the culmination of which made the climb to the top of this seemingly tall mountain feel like a walk in the park. We remain indebted. Visca El Barca, Visca BanglaBarca."