Barça receives city council permit to play in Camp Nou

The Barcelona City Council has granted FC Barcelona the first occupancy license corresponding to the first phase (1A) of the Camp Nou reopening this Friday.

This first phase will allow the club to host games in the Camp Nou again with fans in the south goal and grandstand areas, with an total capacity of 27,000.

However, earlier this month, the club already announced it would wait until they receive the 1B phase before returning to the Camp Nou stadium, which would allow them to host matches with attendances of 45,000.

Club vice president Elena Fort confirmed in a radio interview on Friday morning that the blaugrana would wait until they receive the next permit before returning to their Les Corts home. 

This second phase will allow the opening of another lateral stand and goal.

This weekend the club take on Girona in a Catalan derby that will be played at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium.

"From Phase 1A to 1B, we shouldn’t have to wait another six months," Elena Fort said on RAC1. "It should move faster this time."

"This next phase, however, is much less complex, as it mainly involves the stands," the vice president claimed. "For phase 1A, there were underground sections and the main stand, which were much more complicated."

"All the internal work within the club has already been completed [to obtain 1B], now we’re just waiting for the City Council’s approval."