The efforts of the FC Barcelona board to be able to face matches as locals in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 seem to be starting to pay off, just days before the calendar of the top European competition is defined.
According to Catalunya Ràdio, UEFA has given the green light to the Blaugrana team's request to play their first Champions League match as visitors.
Thus, thanks to this decision, the team led by Hansi Flick will be able to postpone, in principle, its European debut at home until September 30 or October 1, gaining a two-week margin to finalize the preparations in the renovated Spotify Camp Nou.
It is worth remembering that the inaugural day of the tournament is scheduled between September 16 and 18, dates that the Catalan club seeks to avoid to ensure that its stadium is ready.
Montjuïc, free way for Barça thanks to UEFA's approval
In this context, thanks to the approval of the highest body of European football, Barcelona gets rid of the obstacle, for now, of facing a dilemma to choose its venue as a local for the new season, because if UEFA refused to allow Barça to play as a visitor on the first day of the Champions League, it would not have been able to use the Montjuic Olympic Stadium either.
That venue will host a Post Malone concert on September 12, so it cannot be used by the Blaugrana entity for its first match as a local in LaLiga, which will be against Valencia, between the 13th and 14th of the same month.
Now, with this scenario, the club obtains the necessary time to face decisions, whether the team can return to the Spotify Camp Nou or has to play the first part of the season in Montjuïc, with the exception of that commitment against the 'ché' team.
Therefore, if Barça cannot face that debut as a local in the league either, there would be the possibility of moving it to the Montilivi Municipal Stadium, although so far, the latter are just rumors.
Whatever the scenario ends up being, the club already has a little more room to maneuver. Also, on August 28, it would have to inform UEFA where it will play its matches as a local in the 'league phase' of the Champions League, since the rules of the entity indicate that this stage of the competition cannot be played in two different venues.
The Lateral area of the Spotify Camp Nou, a scenario that could complicate the return in the Champions League
In this argumentative order, an aspect that the Blaugrana club should consider with special attention is the requirement of UEFA in terms of television issues, for which the organization requires that the Lateral sector of the stadium be enabled for the public.
This area will not be available in phase 1A of the reopening of the Spotify Camp Nou, where only the seats in the Tribuna and the Gol Sud will be enabled for 27,000 locations. That is why it will be in phase 1B when the Lateral opens, expanding the capacity of the culé fiefdom to 45,000 spectators and thus allowing compliance with the standards required by UEFA.
Now it remains to be seen what the margin obtained by Barcelona ends up in. Of course, it has already freed itself from having to face the first commitment in the Champions League as a local.
It is worth remembering that the club received this Thursday (August 21) the visit of officials from the European organization to evaluate the state of the Camp Nou works.