Friday marked a very special occasion for some of the Bianconeri’s most passionate supporters as 330 Club Doc Members attended the annual Club Doc Day event at Juventus Stadium.
Participants represented a total of 282 different Club Doc centres around the world, including 18 overseas, with fans coming from Afghanistan, Algeria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malta, Romania, San Marino, Sudan and the United States.
First to greet the thronging crowd was President of the Juventus Club Doc Co-ordination Center, Mariella Scirea: “More than ever before, we’re right at home here at Juventus Stadium. Today is a time for celebration for every one of us. You ought to be proud of your support for the Bianconeri, just as we here are proud of you all.”
Juventus president, Andrea Agnelli, too addressed the many supporters present: “It’s a pleasure to welcome you here to our home. You are among our main ambassadors of this club both on and off the pitch.
“Thanks to you, it’s possible to carry out a series of activities that bring Juventini together from across the world, so I invite you to give yourselves a big round of applause.”
“Our fans undoubtedly represent a 12th man out on the pitch,” added CEO and General Manager of Sport at Juventus, Giuseppe Marotta. “It’s no coincidence that Juventus have collected more points at home than any other team in Europe this season. The level of passion that you all provide really does drive the players on to victory.”
Among the various prizes handed out this afternoon by vice-president Pavel Nedved was a special award to the Club Doc of Hong Kong (which comprises of 113 members) for making the longest journey to attend Club Doc Day 2017 – 9.467 km the distance they covered to reach Turin.
JUVENTUS OFFICIAL FAN CLUB
Today was also an opportunity to show supporters Juventus’ new logo and visual identity for next season. As part of this summer’s rebranding process, Club Docs will become ‘Juventus Official Fan Clubs,’ as their bond to the Bianconeri strengthens ever further.
“We are very grateful for the huge amount of work that you carry out,” declared Co-Chief Revenue Officer & Head of Marketing and Digital, Federico Palomba. “The way in which you meet up during the week and bring supporters together is extremely important.
“We’ve worked very hard from a digital perspective to give increased visibility of Club Doc activities on our official website, where we tell your stories and raise awareness of those fans who travel far and wide in the name of love for Juventus.”
‘Juventus Official Fan Clubs’ will benefit from an exclusive merchandising line, including a catalogue of personalised items which Club Doc Members can purchase at special rates.
NUMBERS RISING RAPIDLY
The Club Doc landscape appears to know no limits with the number of subscribers rising all the time. Indeed, there are currently 488 centres across the world, 69 of which overseas – 29 more than the 2015/16 season – equating to a total of over 133,000 members – a 32.5 % increase on last year, which is the highest ever growth rate recorded in a single season.
Club Doc Members are able to participate in a series of exclusive events, such as open training sessions and “Terzo tempo,” in which they can meet a selection of players after home matches.
They can also gain backstage access to team photo shoots and take part in Meet & Greet activities at the Juventus Store, in which they have been able to meet the likes of David Trezeguet, Leonardo Bonucci and Tomas Rincon so far this season.
DISCOVERING J|VILLAGE
Last but not least, Chief Executive Officer Aldo Mazzia presented to supporters the J|Village project, namely the plan for development and upgrading of the Continassa Area, which will host Juventus’ new headquarters (from late June/ early July), a new training centre for the first team, a new Media Center, J|Hotel (due to open in January/ February 2018), the Wins International School and the Entertainment, Food & Retail Area, opposite which there will be a monument commemorating victims of the Heysel tragedy.
At the end of today’s event, Club Doc Members had the opportunity to board an open-top bus and see with their own eyes the J|Village site and take in the scale of the work carried out thus far in what will form a fundamental part of Juventus’ future.
FRIDAY'S EVENT IN PHOTOS