Barcelona Introduces New Camp Nou In Front Of 23,000 Supporters In Trial

JAKARTA - Barcelona held an open training session in front of 23,000 supporters at Camp Nou on Friday, November 7, 2025, marking their return to the iconic stadium.

The Blaugrana have not competed at Camp Nou since 2023, when they temporarily moved to the Olimpic Lluis Companys Stadium in the city to renovate the arena for 1.5 billion euros.

The training session on Friday became a test event ahead of what the club expected as their return to the 'regional cage' for the official match later this month.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said his plan was to return to LaLiga against Athletic Club on November 22, 2025, a week later when Hansi Flick's team hosted Alaves on November 29, 2025, to coincide with the club's 126th birthday.

If it fails, Barcelona will then welcome Atletico Madrid in the league on December 2, 2025.

The exact date will depend on when the City Council will give Barcelona permission to hold a match with a maximum capacity of 45,401 spectators.

The Blaugrana currently only have a stadium permit with a capacity of 25,991 people, which was granted in October 2025, but will wait until they can welcome more spectators before returning officially.

Jobs in the field are still ongoing, with the first two levels approximately complete, but the third level and roof still need to be added.

The current estimate is that the final completion date will fall in 2027, with capacity to increase gradually to reach 105,000 spectators.

The wait to return to Camp Nou turned out to be longer than expected, with Barcelona initially hoping to return by the end of 2024.

The club then explored the possibility of returning early this year, before finally delaying the date until the start of this season in September 2025.

However, due to the waiting to get the necessary permits protracted, they were forced to play their first two games of the season at the Estadi Johan Cruyff with a capacity of 6,000 spectators because the Olimpic Lluis Companys Stadium was not yet available or not ready.

They then returned to the Olimpic Lluis Companys Stadium, where they played their last five home games, but hoped the 3-1 win over Elche last week would be their last win there.