Barcelona are reportedly poised to make their long-awaited return to Camp Nou in their first game after the international break.
When it comes to their homecoming, fans of the Catalan giants have suffered through more false dawns than Truman Burbank. Barcelona were initially scheduled to be back on familiar turf as soon as November 2024. Ten months on, and they are still waiting.
Construction on the iconic venue began after the 2022–23 campaign, forcing Barcelona to trudge up the hill of Montjuïc and play at the old Olympic Stadium from the 1992 Games for the past two seasons. Not only has this been a financial blow for the club at a time of extreme economic caution—any ground is going to be less profitable than the hulking capacity of a full Camp Nou—but the atmosphere on matchday has been noticeably diminished in their unwanted surroundings.
The club officially announced that they would be back at Camp Nou for their last friendly of preseason in August only to have those plans hurriedly shelved by a failure to secure the requisite permits.
Spotify Camp Nou ⏳😍 pic.twitter.com/gPwYX2ha6p
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 10, 2025
The club’s first three league games of the new campaign have been scheduled away from home to afford as much time as possible to acquire the necessary documents ahead of Valencia’s trip to Catalonia on Sep. 14. There were some concerns that Barcelona would have to host that fixture at the 6,000-strong Estadi Johan Cruyff, but it appears as though the Camp Nou comeback is alive once again.
Club officials are described as “absolutely confident” that they will receive the final construction certificate by Wednesday at the very latest, per SPORT. Promotional material for the Camp Nou return has already been filmed, featuring president Joan Laporta lying spread-eagled in the center circle.
Initially, Barcelona will only be able to house 27,000 fans for the visit of Valencia. The next stage of the expansion should see 45,000 spectators welcomed by the end of October while 60,000 could be ushered into the ever-expanding venue in November.
It’s thought that it will still take two more years until works are completely finished.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Barcelona Learn Long-Awaited Camp Nou Return Date.
