FC Barcelona will return to Camp Nou this Saturday – with significantly more spectators than previously assumed. At the same time, officials are also hoping for the green light for the Champions League when Eintracht Frankfurt visits Catalonia on December 9.
The long wait is over. As FC Barcelona officially announced on Monday, the return to the legendary Camp Nou is imminent. This Saturday, the Catalans will play their important La Liga home game against Athletic Bilbao in their own stadium.
At the end of May 2023, Barcelona played its last game at Camp Nou to date, before the Blaugrana moved to the Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic as their alternative stadium for most of their home games. Barcelona president Joan Laporta had already announced in recent weeks that a return to Camp Nou was in the works.
However, Laporta had told Catalunya Radio that “only” 27,000 fans would be allowed to attend games at present. On Monday, Barcelona announced that the first operating permit for Phase 1B had already been granted, making the increase in capacity to 45,401 spectators official.
At the same time, according to its own statements, the club is working flat out on obtaining approval for phase 1C, with Laporta already dreaming of a final capacity of 105,000 fans.
Official confirmation for the Eintracht game still pending
But the Catalans don’t just want to hold their La Liga matches in their own living room again as soon as possible. Together with UEFA, the club is currently working on being allowed to play its next Champions League home game against Eintracht Frankfurt on December 9 at Camp Nou.
The necessary requirements for this have already been met with Phase 1B, but official confirmation is still pending. When Frankfurt visits Barcelona, memories will certainly come flooding back: during their last visit to Camp Nou on their way to the Europa League title, SGE brought 25,000 fans with them in April 2022 instead of the expected 5,000. The FCB officials are unlikely to allow a repeat of this situation this time around. To be there for the return to Camp Nou this Saturday, members can purchase tickets from 4 p.m. on Monday. Tickets will then go on general sale at the same time the following day.