Anyone up for a bit of sport?

People who hate sport cannot understand what sports fans see in it. While lovers of sport know that the people who hate sport are simply misguided (guess which side I'm on). However, what cannot be denied by anyone is that sport is hugely popular around the world among people of all backgrounds.

The popularity and importance of sport as a social and cultural (and political and economic) phenomenon goes back, in the west, to the original Olympic games. Sport has always been with us, and ever since they stopped the spectacle of setting lions on Christians, it is a key source of excitement, entertainment, conflict, happiness and disappointment in society, all things humans cannot seem to live without.

Given the significance of sport for all of us, whether fans or not, it is essential that it be present in Catalonia Today. As a general interest magazine, with the aim of including a little bit of everything, sport has traditionally been underrepresented in this publication. No one is perfect, and our small attempts at serving readers interested in sport have largely been insufficient. But that, I hope you are glad to hear, has now been remedied. If you haven't already come across them (if not go back to pages 52 and 53) we have two new sports pages in the magazine. From now on, every month, those readers interested in sport (and who knows, those that aren't might also find something of interest) will get a double page of sports packed with news and reflection.

As you can see from the page design, every month will start with an opinion article about some aspect of sport (some months there will be a news story instead), followed by bite-sized chunks of sporting news in the form of ‘Ups and downs' (who's been good and who hasn't) and a strip of recent quotes from sporting figures. The following page provides readers with a ‘for/against' format, arguing the toss over a relevant sporting issue, concluding with a round-up of news stories.

Clearly, these pages can be modified to suit the requirements of the magazine. We can also make changes to reflect the interests and wishes of the readership, so I would encourage you to keep an eye on how they go and let us know if you get any bright ideas about how to improve them. In the meantime, check them out and see what you think.

This month, the spread begins with an interesting article on attendances at football matches. The Spanish league it seems, is falling behind in this area, where Germany leads the way with a raft of innovations such as reduced ticket prices. According to the author, economist Albert Deulofeu, Barça's average attendance is around 75,000, just three quarters of Camp Nou's capacity, while at the same time the club has a membership of some 140,000 people. You don't have to be a mathematician to see that something is wrong.

We also have the first 'for and against' rumble, with L'esportiu journalists, Lluís Simon and Marc Salgas battling it out over who is most likely to win this year's MotoGP championship. Veteran Valentino Rossi has made an excellent start, topping the standings going into May, and in a good position to add to his seven world titles. However, with the likes of current title holder Marc Márquez in the mix nothing is certain. Personally, while I've got nothing against the Catalan rider, I'd love to see the irrepressible Rossi once again celebrating a victory in his inimitable style. Go read the article and let us know what you think.

Finally, among the bites of news on the second page, we learn that Jeremy Clarkson may soon be back on the BBC. The disgraced Top Gear presenter divides opinion and, to be honest, I'm not sure whether his return is good news or bad.