'Defiant' Barca members vote to secure 'long-time future' for club despite 'testing season'

The members of Spanish football side Barcelona have reportedly voted to approve a proposal aimed at securing the 'long-term future' of the club despite a testing season for the Catalan outfit.

The club's reaction has been one of defiance even though it is involved in a tense La Liga title race, locked in a Champions League battle with Atletico Madrid and facing a transfer ban due to alleged irregularities involving the signing of youth players, plus a tax investigation over the murky deal to buy Neymar.

According to CNN, some 118,000 members were called to vote after Saturday's 3-1 win at home to Real Betis in the La Liga, in the club's first referendum since 1950 when it decided to build the Camp Nou, although the turnout was just under a third of the total.

More than 27,000 members approved plans for a 725 million-dollar revamp that will extend the ground's capacity to 105,000 and develop the surrounding areas, which is due to start in 2017 and be completed four years later, including the creation of a 12,000-capacity multi-sports pavilion and 5,000 new parking spaces.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said that the members were voting for the future of the club, adding that support for the new 'Espai Barca' proposal is extraordinary and will improve the club for years to come.