UEFA's rules delay FC Barcelona return to Spotify Camp Nou

FC Barcelona's grand return to Spotify Camp Nou, after more than a year of remodelling works, will need to wait a few months longer. Works are already advanced enough for footballers and spectators to return to Barça's stadium, but doing it now would break UEFA rules.

FC Barcelona started renovations of the stadium in mid-2023 and all works are expected to finish in 2026, but football games will still be able to be played before that date, as it was the case with Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu's renovations. In the meantime, Barça plays at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

A return to Camp Nou was expected sooner, but due to UEFA regulations, that will not happen until February 2025. That is because UEFA doesn't allow a change of stadium in the initial phase of the Champions League.

So, due to the "logistical difficulties and cost of maintaining two large capacity venues operational at the same time", games still be played at the smaller stadium, right until matchdays 21 and 22 of LaLiga and the eighth and final game in Champions League's initial phase against Atalanta (January 29).

Once finished, Camp Nou's capacity will increase from 99,354 to 105,000 seats, making it the second largest football stadium in the world.