UEFA approves Barcelona's Camp Nou return for Champions League game against Frankfurt

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona's next Champions League match at home will be at the renovated Camp Nou stadium with partial capacity.

The club said Wednesday it will host Eintracht Frankfurt at the venue on Dec. 9 in the league phase of the European competition. About 45,000 tickets are expected to be available.

Barcelona said UEFA accepted the team’s request to return to the Camp Nou, “considering that all necessary requirements have been met.” The club needed an exemption from European soccer's governing body as regulations state that teams must use the same stadium for all four home games in the league phase.

“Barcelona is pleased to be able to compete again at its stadium and to continue advancing in the comprehensive transformation project of the new Spotify Camp Nou,” the club said.

On Monday, Barcelona announced its Spanish league game against Athletic Bilbao, on Saturday, will be its first at the Camp Nou since it began upgrading the stadium in June 2023 to expand capacity in Europe’s largest soccer venue from 99,000 to 105,000. Only 45,401 fans will be allowed in against Athletic.

More than 20,000 fans paid to watch the team practice at the Camp Nou on Nov. 7.

The highly indebted club secured 1.45 billion euros (then $1.6 billion) from multiple investors to undertake the project.

Barcelona had originally planned to be back playing at the venue as early as November 2024 to coincide with the club’s 125th anniversary. The team has played at the municipally owned 55,000-seat Olympic Stadium since the start of the 2023-24 season.

Another delay this summer led to the club scrambling to hold a Spanish league game at the 6,000-seat stadium located on its training grounds on the outskirts of the city in September.

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