FC Barcelona is accelerating work to get the Spotify Camp Nou ready for its home debut in LaLiga and also for the first phase of the Champions League, which will be drawn on August 28. The Blaugrana entity has communicated to UEFA its desire to host the most important club tournament on the planet in Les Corts.
According to information from 'Sport', Barça will contact the organizing body of European football in the next 48 hours, so that, if it does not have the endorsement, it can play the Champions League in Montjuïc, its home for the last two seasons.
Barça asked to play their first Champions League match as visitors
Before the day of the Champions League draw, Barça must confirm to UEFA in which stadium they will play their home matches. The Blaugrana institution will make every effort to play them at the Spotify Camp Nou; for this reason, they asked the European body to play their first tournament match as visitors.
By requesting that their first match be played away from home, they could delay their home debut until September 30 or October 1. It should be noted that the works at the Spotify Camp Nou are racing against the clock. The club already has the approval of the Final Construction Certificate (CFO) of phase 1A, which will allow them to enable the grandstand and Gol Sud, which would allow an initial capacity of 27,000 spectators. This could be easier for LaLiga, but not for UEFA.
UEFA asks Barça for the Camp Nou to be in its phase 1B
For television transmission reasons, to comply with UEFA regulations, at least one side of the stadium must be operational. This will be in phase 1B, when one of the sides can be opened and the capacity can be expanded to 45,000 seats; this has not yet been validated. On the other hand, the Gold Nor will be for phase 1C, which is the last one planned in the planning of the works.
FC Barcelona is eager to premiere its new stadium. They had considered the option of playing in Metalla the match of matchday 4 against Valencia in case the Spotify Camp Nou was not ready, but that proposal was denied by LaLiga. This Tuesday, August 26, will be a key day, because the City Council will be able to determine if the reopening of the venue for the match against the Valencians can take place.
Montjuïc appears as Barça's plan B for the Champions League
On the other hand, Barça has moved to look for alternatives to play at home from September. The Blaugrana club has reached an agreement with Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) to extend the license to use the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc until the month of February.
This would ensure that they have their home ground for at least half of the season. In addition, that would ensure that they play at home not only the initial phase of the Champions League, but also for hypothetical playoffs before reaching the round of 16.