OFFICIAL: FC Barcelona will host Valencia at the Johan Cruyff Stadium

As expected, the board of FC Barcelona has made official the change of venue for the match corresponding to matchday 4 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26. Finally, Hansi Flick's team will host Valencia this Sunday, September 14 (9:00 PM) at the Johan Cruyff, with the stadium of the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper being the venue for the club's first home game this season.

The official field of Barça Atlètic and Barça Femení had also hosted the 2025 Joan Gamper Trophy, where the Blaugrana team thrashed the Italian Como (5-0). Beyond the efforts to get the Spotify Camp Nou ready, the club has not yet received the first occupancy license from the Ajuntament and, therefore, the return to the culé temple will have to wait.

Barça will have no objections from LaLiga to the Johan Cruyff after the latest adjustments

And, after the latest inspection by the authorities of the works at Camp Nou, Barça requested a 24-hour extension to confirm the venue for the clash against Valencia. The board bet until the last minute to enable the Estadi, but always had the 'plan B' ready with the Johan Cruyff.

The field of the Ciutat Esportiva in Sant Joan Despí, although it does not have the minimum regulatory capacity for first division matches (8,000 spectators, the stadium has a maximum capacity of 6,000), has the necessary infrastructure to host League matches without inconvenience.

The Johan Cruyff of the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, in Sant Joan Despí.

Among the adjustments that the club will resolve in the next few hours is the enabling of the camera system and the optimization of the reliable fiber optic Internet connection to guarantee the operability of the VAR. After the system failures in the Rayo-Barça match of matchday 3 in Vallecas, LaLiga cannot allow new messes with the implementation of video arbitration.

In addition, there will be some adjustments to the irrigation system and the press area. Valencia could present some complaint about the capacity of the Johan Cruyff, but Barcelona will be able to rely on the 'Ok' of LaLiga as established by article XIII of its internal regulations:

• "The stadiums must have a minimum capacity of 8,000 seats. The Delegated Commission may, due to circumstances of a demographic, architectural, technical or historical nature of the Club/SAD, accept the reduction of said minimum capacity required".

In this case, the move of the match is due to force majeure, due to the non-enablement of the Spotify Camp Nou in time. Similarly, the Lluís Companys de Montjuïc is also not in a position to host official matches this weekend, as a result of the concert by the American artist Post Malone scheduled for Friday the 12th.

Barcelona still does not have a confirmed date for the return to the Spotify Camp Nou

The Spotify Camp Nou under construction during August 2025.

On the contrary, Montjuïc will be available from next week to host, for the third consecutive season, official Barça matches. Not in vain, the club has already processed a new permit with the Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) to use the Estadi Olímpic, if necessary, until the end of February 2026.

This, in case the return to the Spotify Camp Nou is postponed much longer. The works are progressing at full speed to enable the culé temple in its phase 1A, with 27,000 seats available, both for LaLiga and for the Champions League. However, the Ajuntament has the last word once the board delivers the Final Work Certificate (CFO).

With this requirement it is possible to process the First Occupation license, essential to reopen the Les Corts field in any of the planned stages. Limak expects to have phases 1B (45,000 seats) and 1C (60,000) before the end of the year, enabling the Lateral and Gol Nod to exceed the maximum capacity available in Montjuïc (50,000).

For the budget of the 25/26 financial year, the reopening of the Camp Nou is essential for box office issues, in addition to the enabling of VIP seats. For now, the auditor Crowe has only computed 58 of the 100 million euros corresponding to this 'lever', which is key in turn to return to operate in the 1:1 rule of 'Fair Play'.

Barça will play 3 home matches in 10 days, without a confirmed venue

As things stand, the Estadi operators will continue working hard so that Barça can return home as soon as possible. An objective that has been elusive to the board, considering that the initial return was scheduled for November 2024 and, in summer, an intrigue campaign was made about the dispute of the Gamper in Les Corts.

Hansi Flick's team will also be at home on Sunday 21 and Sunday 28 September against Getafe (matchday 5) and Real Sociedad (matchday 7) for La Liga, in addition to the next October 1 in Champions League against Newcastle. Will Camp Nou be able to host any of these matches? Otherwise, the culés will go to Montjuïc again.