Security issues behind Barcelona licence delay to reopen Camp Nou

The much-awaited return of Barcelona to the Spotify Camp Nou continues to be shrouded in uncertainty, as deadlines approach for both La Liga and the Champions League. The Blaugrana have agreed to play their first three games of the season away from home with La Liga, but now have just nine days to secure a vital licence to reopen the ground.

The Blaugrana are hoping to secure the licence from Barcelona’s City Council to reopen Camp Nou with an attendance of 27,000 fans initially, before increasing that to 60,000 fans eventually during the coming months. However Barcelona have suffered yet another setback.

In order for the Council to grant Barcelona their licence, the Catalan giants are required to submit an end of construction certificate. However RAC1 have revealed that the club have requested a fresh meeting with the Council to arrange a new date to deliver that certificate, after conceding they would not have it today, as had initially been projected. Their information is that the certificate will not arrive before the end of the month, but their plan is still to host Barcelona’s home match against Valencia on the 14th of September.

The resason is that the areas pertaining to the Tribune and the South Goal stands have been found to have deficiencies regarding the security of the stadium, which would prevent a professional match being held at the ground. Other areas of the ground also need further improvement.

It places further doubt on Barcelona’s ability to host Champions League games at Camp Nou. The club have until the 28th of August to communicate to UEFA whether they can host games there under UEFA conditions, when the draw is made. If they cannot obtain the Council licence before that date, they may be forced to move back to Montjuic for European clashes, a major financial setback for the Blaugrana.