Barcelona staged an open training session in front of 23,000 supporters at Spotify Camp Nou on Friday as they finally edge closer to a return to the iconic stadium.
Barça have not played a match at Camp Nou since 2023, when they temporarily relocated to the Olympic Stadium in the city to allow for a €1.5 billion refurbishment of the arena.
Friday’s training session served as a test event ahead of what the club hope will be a return for official games later this month.
President Joan Laporta has said the plan is to be back for either the LaLiga fixture against Athletic Club on Nov. 22 or a week later when Hansi Flick’s side host Alavés on Nov. 29, coinciding with the club’s 126th anniversary.
Failing that, Barça then welcome Atlético Madrid in the league on Dec. 2.
The exact date will depend on when the council grant Barça a permit to allow them to stage matches with a capped capacity of 45,401.
Barça currently only have a licence for the stadium to hold 25,991 people, which was granted in October, but will wait until they can welcome more fans before returning officially.
Work remains ongoing on the ground, with the first two tiers more or less finished, but the third tier and the roof still to be added.
The current estimate is that the final completion date will be in 2027, with the capacity gradually increasing over time until reaching 105,000.
The wait to return has been longer than anticipated, with Barça initially hoping to be back at the end of 2024.
The club then sounded out a return earlier this year, before pushing back the date until the start of the current season in September.
However, as the wait to obtain the necessary permits dragged on, they had to play their first two games of the season at the 6,000-capacity Estadi Johan Cruyff because the Olympic Stadium was not available or ready.
They did subsequently go back to the Olympic Stadium, where they have played their last five home games, but hope last Sunday’s 3-1 win over Elche will prove their last there.