FC Barcelona will play their first home game in LaLiga next Sunday, September 14, at 21:00 CET, 20:00 BST, but not at Camp Nou, which is still under construction and has not received permits to open the 27,000 seats initially available (the final stadium will be able to host 105,000 people, but that won't happen until next year at the earliest).
Instead, LaLiga will turn a blind eye and allow Barcelona to play the match at the Johan Cruyff stadium, a UEFA Category 3 stadium used by the youth team and a training grounds, that has 6,000 seats, which is less than the minimum capacity required by LaLiga (8,000 seats).
"This change of venue requires adapting the ticketing process to the reduced capacity of the stadium, which holds 6,000 spectators, significantly fewer than the Spotify Camp Nou", says the club. "In order to guarantee maximum transparency and provide the greatest possible opportunities to our members, the Club has put in place a special registration and lottery process for those with purchase priority."
This is the umpteenth time that the club delays the opening of the construction under renovation, which was once initially expected for late 2024. Joan Laporta promised at the end of last season that Camp Nou would hold the Joan Gamper Trophy in August, but it did not happen.
Now, there are no expected dates for the opening of the stadium. The club hopes to have all permits ready before their next home match, against Getafe on September 21. A key date is October 1, when Barcelona will welcome PSG for Champions League: UEFA requires all home games during the league phase (until January 2026) to be played in the same stadium.