Barcelona make taxi service for youth players end official

FC Barcelona have officially confirmed that they are changing the set up of the transport routes for the 2023-24 season for all the players who attend the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper on a daily basis. The sports management of youth football, with the consent and approval of the president, has decided to eliminate the taxis that used to pick up and transport the youth players and replace them with bus routes. A decision that, according to SPORT, has outraged many of the boys' parents, among other things because they have changed the conditions they were promised when they signed for FC Barcelona and because, on the other hand, it will be a huge problem for many families, as not all of them will be able to take their children to the pick-up points.

The letter sent by FC Barcelona on Monday, to which SPORT has had access, reads: "We are in contact with you to inform you of a change in the logistics of transport for the 2023-24 season. In order to optimise this service, the club has decided that the transport system will be carried out by 5 lines of coaches that will leave from different points in Catalonia. These coaches will make several stops along the way to pick up the players for training and drop them off at the same point once training is over. You will be able to choose the point that best suits your needs.

The cities of origin will be Tarragona, Lleida, Manresa, Vic and Girona. We will try to ensure that both the exact starting point of the journey and the stops that the coach will make are close to the main road in order to speed up the journey".

The club goes on to explain in which municipalities in each region the bus will make stops:

Girona: Tordera, Mataró and Badalona.

Vic: Granollers, Parets del Vallés and Montcada i Reixach.

Lleida: Igualada and Abrera

Tarragona: Calafell, Sitges and Castelldefels.

Manresa: Terrassa and Sant Cugat

Finally, the club says in its letter to the parents of the young La Masia starlets that "as soon as possible we will specify the exact points and timetables of each transport line. We regret any difficulties that may arise as a result of this change and we ask for your full cooperation in adapting to this new operation".

With this change, FC Barcelona is putting an end to a traditional service that has been in place for more than 25 years.