UEFA officials to visit Barcelona on Thursday to inspect Spotify Camp Nou works | OneFootball

Work at Barcelona’s iconic home stadium, Spotify Camp Nou, is moving at a frantic pace, with construction teams working 24-hour shifts from Monday to Saturday to address shortcomings that have so far prevented the issuing of the Final Works Certificate (CFO).

This certificate is essential for the club to present to the Barcelona City Council, which must then decide whether to grant the Licence of First Occupancy.

There are fewer than three weeks left before Barcelona’s first scheduled home match of the season, against Valencia on 13 or 14 September, and uncertainty remains over where it will be played.

UEFA emissaries schedule visit for inspection

Now, according to Mundo Deportivo, La Liga inspectors visited the stadium on Tuesday, and UEFA officials will carry out their own inspection this Thursday to examine the current state of the works.

The European governing body has its own requirements for hosting Champions League matches, which must be met regardless of whether Barcelona are granted the Licence of First Occupancy.

Barcelona had asked UEFA to schedule their first Champions League group-stage fixture away from home on 16, 17 or 18 September, giving an extra two weeks to prepare the Camp Nou for a potential debut on 30 September or 1 October.

Camp Nou is still not ready for a return. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

However, UEFA have decided not to grant such concessions. The matter will ultimately depend on the Champions League draw on Thursday, 28 August in Monte Carlo, with the schedule confirmed on the morning of Saturday, 30 August.

If the stadium is reopened under Phase 1A, capacity would be limited to 27,000 spectators, covering the main stand and part of the South Goal end.

However, UEFA requires that the lateral stand also be open for television purposes, which would only be possible from Phase 1B onwards, raising capacity to 45,000 seats. Phase 1C, including the North Goal, would follow at a later stage.

Time is pressing, and Barcelona must inform UEFA next week of the stadium to be used for the group stage. Regulations stipulate that all four fixtures must be held in the same venue until the end of January.

Running both the Camp Nou (La Liga) and the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys (CL) as parallel options has not been ruled out if required.