FIFA awards FC Barcelona its certification of medical excellence. Dr. Monés, Head of the club’s Medical Department, to receive the honour

The Medical Services of FC Barcelona will be accredited as a “FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence” at a ceremony to take place next Thursday 16 May at the Joan Gamper Training Complex.

The presentation will be attended by the football club's president, Sandro Rossell, and the Head of its Medical Department, Dr. Jordi Monés, together with a large representation from its Board of Directors. The FIFA representatives attending will include Jiri Dvorak, the Head of its Medical Services.

Dr. Monés, the Director of the Institut de la Màcula and of the  Barcelona Macula Foundation, has expressed his satisfaction at receiving “an award which strengthens FC Barcelona's commitment to health and positions it as an organisation which reaches beyond the sporting sphere”.

In Dr. Monés's opinion, “FC Barcelona has again confirmed that its slogan of being “more than a club” is more than just words: it differentiates us from other sports clubs and lifts us into a field, that of health, which has great impact for the whole of society, including the club's members and supporters”.

This honour from FIFA follows the initiative “Quit Smoking with Barça”, which the club launched in 2012 also in collaboration with world football's governing body with the aim of helping smokers to give up. As a result of this campaign, the Camp Nou became the first smoke-free stadium, coinciding with the match between FC Barcelona and Osasuna on Wednesday, 4 January 2012.

Foto: The Medical Service, FIFA awards FCB / FOTO: ARCHIVO FCB