Barca’s Camp Nou comeback delayed again over licence issue

BARCELONA – Barcelona will have to wait a bit longer to get back into the revamped Camp Nou after the city council knocked back their request for a key safety permit on Tuesday.

The Spanish champions had hoped to face Real Sociedad there this Sunday with around 27,000 fans allowed in, but instead the game will be staged once more at the Olympic Stadium up on Montjuïc hill, where the team have already been playing while the rebuild drags on.

“The club continues to work on obtaining the necessary administrative permits for the opening of Spotify Camp Nou in the coming weeks,” Barça said in a statement, adding that it was looking at new amendments passed on by the council.

Local officials, though, said there were still issues with evacuation routes and other safety matters. “We share the club’s desire to return as soon as possible, but this city council must guarantee the safety of everyone who wants to go to the stadium — this is the priority,” said deputy mayor Laia Bonet.

Barcelona operations director Joan Sentelles insisted the ground was safe enough to use even if the work is far from done. “Just because it’s not finished, doesn’t mean it’s not safe,” he told reporters, also confirming the roof will now be finished in summer 2027, a year later than planned.

The reopening had first been pencilled in for November 2024 but has been delayed several times already. Hansi Flick’s side had to play away from home for the first three weeks of this season to give extra time for works, before staging games at the Johan Cruyff ground next to their training base, which only holds 6,000.

Barça are thought to be paying around €1.5 billion (£1.3bn) for the rebuild, one of the biggest stadium projects in European football, but for now they remain stuck in temporary digs with no firm date for the Camp Nou return.