FC Barcelona must play their upcoming home game in front of only 6,000 fans. What sounds like a fake headline is unfortunately absolutely true from the Catalans’ perspective.
As the Catalans have just officially confirmed, Barça will host FC Valencia on Sunday evening (9 PM) at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, which holds 6,000 seats. The bitter reason: The Camp Nou was not cleared for a game by the Spanish building authority, among others.
📸 JOSEP LAGO – AFP or licensors
The venerable home stadium of the Catalans has been undergoing renovations since the summer of 2023, costing a total of 1.5 billion euros, and is expected to accommodate 105,000 fans after all construction work is completed for the 2026/27 season.
Before that happens, Barça wanted to initially play in front of 27,000 fans at Camp Nou under an exceptional regulation. However, this will not happen now – just as little as a return to the Olympic Stadium.
The arena, which holds nearly 50,000 spectators, was the temporary home for the team over the past two years. According to reports from ‘Marca’, Barcelona’s management is reluctant to return to the Olympic Stadium.
Additionally, the home games would clash with other planned events in the arena. The future course of action is currently uncertain.
Whether Barcelona will also play their next home games at the Estadi Johan Cruyff is still unclear. According to today’s announcement, the club is “working intensively to obtain the necessary permits” as quickly as possible. According to LaLiga regulations, every stadium must have a minimum capacity of 15,000 spectators. There is an exception for the game against Valencia. Additionally, Barça will host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on October 1.
An exception would also be needed to continue playing in the mini-stadium. If this is not granted and the club moves to a large arena in another city, there is another problem. According to UEFA regulations, Barça would not be allowed to designate a new home venue until after the group stage, meaning they would have to travel to another city for their CL home games until January.
📸 Alex Caparros – 2025 Getty Images
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