Barca decision to cede Camp Nou's naming rights to foundation should be praised

The decision from Barcelona to cede the naming rights of Camp Nou to its foundation to fight against COVID-19 should be praised, especially in such difficult times.

Barcelona had a massive opportunity to raise revenue through advertising but instead opted for a charitable gesture.

Something similar happened some years ago when Joan Laporta's board decided to break the club's tradition of never having a shirt sponsor by placing a charity, UNICEF, on its jersey at zero cost.

The big clubs were already reaping millions of euros from lucrative sponsorship deals but Barcelona resisted.

After that, Qatar arrived and the club has since benefitted from commercial sponsors whose money has helped Barcelona maintain its competitive level, with Rakuten currently paying 55 million euros per season to have its name on the Blaugrana shirt.

Something similar is expected to happen with Camp Nou, with the board having already talked up the idea of selling the stadium's naming rights.

The economic climate in the coming years is set to be challenging and one of the most important sources of income for Barcelona will be through the stadium.

Forecasts predict that stadiums will not allow access to supporters until November the earliest, which will see Barcelona miss out on 50 million euros in ticket sales.

In such a situation, various other revenue streams must be sought and the stadium's name is one of them.

If the first year sees the proceeds used for a charitable purpose such as the fight against the coronavirus, then that should be applauded.

From then on, once a cure has been found or the crisis has subsided, then the club could have to exploit the revenue that would come with selling the stadium's naming rights to a commercial sponsor.