Barcelona are set to make their long-awaited return to their iconic Camp Nou home after they received a Phase 1B first occupancy license from the City Council.
That license will allow Barcelona to reopen the renovated Camp Nou with a 45,401 capacity for Saturday's La Liga clash against Athletic Bilbao.
The game will see Barcelona play at their official home stadium for the first time since hammering Mallorca 3-0 in a league clash in May 2023.
Camp Nou set to make Champions League return
The Blaugrana may be looking forward to facing Athletic and Deportivo Alaves at Camp Nou in their next two league outings, but there has been some doubt as to whether they would be able to play their next Champions League home game at the venue.
However, the club have now confirmed that UEFA have accepted the request for Hansi Flick's side to face Eintracht Frankfurt at the Camp Nou on December 9.
Providing an update on ticket details, Barcelona said in a statement: “In the coming days, the Club will provide information regarding ticket sales for the match.
“We remind all members who have purchased the 2025/26 Season Pass that this match is already included.
“As previously communicated, last October the Club introduced a single Pass, valid until the end of the season, which has granted access to the Spotify Camp Nou and entitles holders to attend all official matches of the men’s first team played at the Spotify Camp Nou from Matchday 13 of LaLiga (November 22, 2025) onwards, including LaLiga EA Sports, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Champions League fixtures.”
Frankfurt set to receive away allocation
There will be no away fans for Saturday's game between Barcelona and Athletic due to security concerns. As it stands, there is no way to safely segregate home and away supporters.
However, according to The Athletic, there is a possibility that Frankfurt fans could attend next month's Champions League clash.
Frankfurt are likely to be given an allocation of 5% of the stadium's usable capacity, as per UEFA requirements. The report claims that adjustments will be made to the stadium entrances to accommodate the away supporters.
FGG says: Champions League nights just got better
The Camp Nou has not hosted a Champions League game since Barcelona lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich in October 2022.
So, it is great news for the Catalan giants and for the European final that the stadium will welcome Champions League football for the first time in three years.
While they have done their best to make Montjuic their home during the Camp Nou renovation, there is nothing like playing at your natural home stadium. The return to the iconic venue should only aid Barcelona's chances of going deep into the Champions League, as they look to win the competition for the first time since 2014-15.