Barcelona’s two options to host Valencia clash – Behind closed doors at Camp Nou or Estadi Johan Cruyff | OneFootball

Barcelona are weighing up contingency plans for their home league debut against Valencia on 14 September, with doubts persisting over whether the Spotify Camp Nou will be ready to host fans.

As of today, the Final Works Certificate has not yet been issued, an essential requirement for the Barcelona City Council to process the First Occupancy Licence. This would give the green light to play at the Spotify Camp Nou with spectators, although with restricted capacity.

Two fallback options

Barcelona continue to work with this option as their main objective, but they are also weighing alternatives in case the licence does not arrive in time to open the stadium for the match against Valencia.

As such, SPORT reports that Barça have outlined two fallback options: holding the game at Spotify Camp Nou behind closed doors or relocating it to the Estadi Johan Cruyff, which has a 6,000-seat capacity.

With regard to playing without spectators at the Spotify Camp Nou, there would be no safety issues for the teams, referees, or the staff required for this type of match, since no fans would attend.

The dressing rooms for both the home and away teams, as well as for the referees, are ready, and all matters related to emergency exits, ambulances, and the necessary security measures are in place.

Both the City Council and the Fire Department would, in principle, give their approval if the decision were made to play the match behind closed doors.

Estadi Johan Cruyff is an option to host Barcelona vs Valencia. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

As for the use of Estadi Johan Cruyff, where the Gamper Trophy match vs Como was recently played, all matters related to safety and crowd management are already resolved.

The main difficulties lie in the installation of VAR, as the stadium is not yet equipped for it, and in the possible scheduling conflicts with matches of the women’s team and Barça Atletic, who usually play there and whose fixture times are not yet known.

Montjuic not an option

As previously reported, Barcelona have reached an agreement with the company Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) to use Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Montjuic until the end of February, in case the Spotify Camp Nou is not available.

However, the venue is unavailable for the Valencia match set to be played on the weekend of 13-15 September. A Post Malone concert is scheduled for 12 September, leaving the pitch unplayable that weekend.

The only slim chance would be if ticket sales for the concert falter and the event is moved to the nearby Palau Sant Jordi.

For now, Barcelona’s priority remains obtaining the Occupancy Licence for Camp Nou in time, but contingency planning continues behind the scenes.