Marrakech – The Catalan club announced on its social channels that after renovation-related delays of the reopening of Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou, the Blaugrana will return to their emblematic home this Saturday.
The La Liga Matchday 13 clash opposing Barcelona to Basque rivals Athletic Club is set to be the first match played at Camp Nou since the May 28, 2023 matchup opposing the Blaugrana to Mallorca, marking the end of a 909-day hiatus.
In a statement published yesterday, the Catalan club announced it has received the Phase 1B occupancy license from the Barcelona City Council. The license allows for the use of the entirety of the stadium’s Lateral seating area, in addition to the Tribune and South Goal seating areas, previously authorized through the Phase 1A license.
This development brings the authorized Camp Nou capacity to 45,401 attendees – still a long way off the projected 105,000 capacity set to be reached by June 2026, but a substantial increase from the 23,000 previously authorized seats through the 1A license.
The next step, the Catalan club announced, is obtaining the Phase 1C license, which will allow for resumed activity in the North Gol section as well, raising the capacity to 60,000 supporters.
🚨 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐍𝐨𝐮: The RED and BLUE sections in the picture are the areas that will be open to fans from Sunday onward (45,000 seats), as Barça have secured the Phase 1A and 1B approvals.
The yellow section will stay closed for now. It will only open once Barça… pic.twitter.com/bgzIMaKlSg
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) November 17, 2025
The club also announced it’s working jointly with UEFA to host its next home Champions League match, a December 9 clash against Eintracht Frankfurt, at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona’s return to its home stadium, after two full seasons spent at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys – also known as Estadi Montjuic – comes at a timely moment for the Catalans. Hansi Flick’s side, currently three points behind Real Madrid in the race for La Liga title, has not performed at the standard it set last season, and will need every bit of support to close that gap.
