Barcelona must inform UEFA about their Champions League home venue by August 28 | OneFootball

Barcelona are facing a race against time to get the Camp Nou back and running by September.

After starting the game with three back-to-back away matches, Barcelona are eyeing a return to the grand old Camp Nou.

September 14 has been eyed as the return date for Barcelona, when the club are expected to take on Valencia. However, the club still does not have the necessary permits to open the stadium.

Barcelona facing an August 28 deadline

In La Liga, Barcelona are looking to engineer a potential Miami match-up against Valencia, even though it has received a lot of flak from Spanish football personalities.

But as far as the Champions League is concerned, MARCA reports that by August 28, which is also the date of the Champions League group stage draw, Barcelona must confirm their home venue for the competition.

Barcelona are determined to start next season at Camp Nou (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

UEFA regulations demand that all first-round home matches be played in the same stadium, meaning the club must have clarity by then or be forced to find an alternative venue.

Barça have consistently rejected the idea of splitting home matches across two stadiums, which would come in the form of league matches being played at Montjuic and knockout matches at Camp Nou.

The Camp Nou’s reopening will not happen at full capacity. The club will proceed in three phases: starting with 30,000 seats, then increasing to 45,000 for Champions League fixtures, and finally reaching 60,000.

Initially, a full 60,000-capacity debut had been planned, but construction timelines have made that unfeasible.

Barcelona, therefore, are facing a key couple of weeks as they look to work around the clock to get Camp Nou match-ready.