Barcelona have been a club in exile in their own city for the past two seasons. The Spanish champions relocated to the Olimpic Lluis Companys at the start of 2023-24 and their return to the Camp Nou has suffered a series of delays.
The redeveloped home of Barcelona has been proposed as a host stadium for the Champions League final in 2029, by which time it will have been in use at its full 105,000 capacity for some time.
While the full reopening of the stadium is still a way off, Barcelona are heading back home and beginning a phased repatriation.
When will the new Camp Nou open?
The first event at the Camp Nou was an open training session for the men’s first team, on Friday, November 7.
“The capacity will be capped to 23,000 spectators, located in the tribune and south goal areas,” reported The Stadium Business before the successful test event.
The Blaugrana will now play their first La Liga game at the redeveloped Camp Nou. 45,401 spectators will be in attendance when Barcelona take on Athletic Club on Saturday, November 22.
"The Catalan club announced they have been granted a licence to occupy 45,401 seats of the renovated stadium, which is yet to be completed, against Athletic Club on Saturday afternoon," reports Sid Lowe of The Guardian.
"Barcelona were granted an occupation licence for phase 1B of the construction of the new Camp Nou on Monday, allowing them to open the main stand and south end against Athletic, a year later than scheduled.
Barcelona have also requested that their designated Champions League stadium be reverted to the Camp Nou in time for their next home fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt in December.
"The next phase of occupation would include the north stand, taking them over 60,000, with the final capacity reaching 105,000."
The stadium was originally built in the 1950s and opened in September 1957. It is undergoing its second major renovation. When construction began in the summer of 2023, a partial-capacity opening date of December 2024 was slated.
Barcelona welcome Athletic to the Catalan capital on Saturday afternoon and would go top of La Liga with a win before Real Madrid visit Elche on Sunday evening.
Their next match in the Champions League will be away at Chelsea before back-to-back league games at home against Alaves and Atletico Madrid.
Eintracht Frankfurt will be Barcelona's visitors, potentially at Camp Nou, on Tuesday, December 9.
