Great news for FC Barcelona in their goal of returning to the Spotify Camp Nou as soon as possible. According to RAC1, the club already has the Final Construction Certificate (CFO) for Phase 1A of the stadium, a crucial step in the reopening plan.
From now on, only the approval of the City Council is needed to enable the partial opening of the venue, with 27,000 seats available (Tribune and South Goal area). It should be noted that representatives of the city council will visit the facilities of the culé fief this Tuesday, August 26 to determine if the reopening will be possible on September 14, the date on which the team led by Hansi Flick hopes to play the match against Valencia CF at home.
📌 PHASE 1 OF REOPENING OF CAMP NOU:
- Phase 1A (South Goal and Tribune): will house up to 27,000 spectators.
- Phase 1B (the above plus the Lateral): the capacity would increase to 45,000 attendees.
- Phase 1C (all of the above plus the North Goal): will allow the entry of 60,000 people.
It is worth remembering that the team from the Ciudad Condal is working against the clock to be able to play the match against Los Ches, valid for matchday 4 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26 at the Spotify Camp Nou. Their chances of facing this match, the first at home in the season, had become considerably complicated.
Montjuïc and other scenarios that became complicated for Barcelona
The clearest alternative for the culés was the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium (Montjuic), venue that has served as a temporary home for the last two seasons. However, that option looked very distant, since two days before, on September 12, a concert by the American artist Post Malone is scheduled, which makes it difficult for the pitch to be in optimal conditions to host the match.
Another alternative that was evaluated was to exchange the locality with Valencia CF and play the commitment in Mestalla. However, the negative of LaLiga was recently confirmed, as reported by COPE, since the employers will not allow altering the order of the matches between the two teams. In this way, the possibility of playing in Valencian territory was completely ruled out.
With this panorama, FC Barcelona was running out of alternatives. Only the rumored option of playing the match in Montilivi, home of Girona, remained. It should not be forgotten that the Estadi Johan Cruyff, home of the women's team, although it sounded like one of the alternatives to be assessed, does not have enough capacity (minimum 8000 seats) to host a First Division match.
The return to Camp Nou: closer than ever
Now, with the Final Construction Certificate (CFO) of Phase 1A in hand, the scenario changes radically for the azulgrana team. Everything is subject to the approval of the City Council, which must give the green light to the partial reopening on September 14. According to what was expressed by official sources, the return is very well on track, which brings the club closer to fulfilling the long-awaited goal of returning home as soon as possible.
This, in turn, would unlock another key situation for FC Barcelona: the choice of the stadium for the dispute of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. It should be remembered that the club has a deadline of August 28 - the day on which the draw for the tournament will be held - to communicate in which venue it will play its matches during this first phase of the competition, which will take place between September 16, 2025 and January 28, 2026.
- 📌THE DATA: UEFA inspected the works last week and gave the green light to the club to see action at the Camp Nou if it has all the corresponding permits from the City Council, the Royal Spanish Football Federation and LaLiga.
What is clear is that obtaining this permit represents a great advance for the Catalan team. Despite having Montjuïc reserved until February, the board also understands the complexities of maintaining two stadiums at the same time, an idea that is not currently being considered in the azulgrana planning.