Barcelona's €171 million shirt sponsorship deal with the non-profit Qatar Foundation was approved by a wide margin at a general assembly.
club members unanimously accepted the shirt sponsorship deal at a general assembly late on Saturday night, with 697 votes in favour of keeping the deal, 76 against and 36 abstentions, the club said on their website.
The Qatar Foundation, founded in 1995, has set up projects focusing on education, scientific research and community development, mainly in the Middle East.
Calling all shirt collectors: FootballShirtCollector.com is coming soon! We’re launching a new community site created especially for shirt collectors. It’s a dedicated space to connect with others, create your profile, and join a growing network of fellow football shirt collectors.
It is run by the wife of Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani who seized power from his father in a bloodless coup in 1995 and in 2003 declared his son Tamim heir apparent.
Part of the opposition to the shirt sponsorship deal stems from the lack of democracy in Qatar, which has no organised opposition groups and where parliamentary elections have repeatedly been postponed.
