Barcelona should be allowed to play its first phase game in the 2025-26 Champions League at home, but the Catalan club must say it by September 21 when they plan to play their home matches in competition.
UEFA, the director of European football, generally does not allow any movement in their list of matches, but it could be authorized given the exceptional circumstances of the continuous problems of Barcelona to play their home in Camp Nou.
Barça has not played at the stadium since the start of a renovation project of 1.5 billion euros (1.3 billion pounds sterling; 1.8 billion dollars) in June 2023, organizing games at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Company through the city while the work is progressing.
Earlier in summer, Barça was convinced that they could finally return to play Camp Nou for the start of this campaign, although with a limited participation while the work continued on the stadium.
This date was postponed in mid-September, La Liga agreeing to let Barça play their first three games at home. But he is now in doubt that Camp Nou will be ready for the match against Valence, currently scheduled for September 14.
Montjuic is not available for this Valencia match and the Group Aperture Champions Group matches, scheduled for September 16 to 18, due to a post Malone concert on Friday, September 12.
Barça is currently assesing the Valencia game options, but the stadium of 7,000 capacities of Johan Cruyff on their training ground does not meet the specifications of the Liga, while the permits necessary to play in camera at Camp Nou have not yet been asked of the city authorities.
The Next Home of Barça La Liga match is against Getafe on weekends from September 20 to 21, while the second round of phase matches in the Champions League takes place on September 30 and October 1.
Montjuic would be, in theory, available for these games, and there are no more concerts scheduled until May 2026. Barça and the municipal council were in contact with a potential scenario with the Catalans who play the phase of the Champions League.
The Champions League print takes place on Thursday afternoon, with the full list of the match which should be confirmed by Saturday.
If Barça tells UEFA that they wish to play their home matches at Camp Nou, an official inspection would take place to ensure that the current stadium meets all the required security and techniques standards.
The UEFA Regulation 25.08 says that, from the league phase, a club must “in principle” all its matches in the competition at the same stadium. This allows UEFA WigGle-Shoom, but all the changes would most likely occur between the league phase and the KOs from February 2026.
Camp Nou Rémanié can finally accommodate 105,000 spectators, but the stadium should reopen with a reduced capacity of around 27,000, with the completion date of the complete project to at least two years.
(David Ramos / Getty Images)
