FC Barcelona Femení sell out Camp Nou for Real Madrid clash
World record attendance for women's football possible after 85,000 tickets sold
Tickets for FC Barcelona Femení's first appearance in front of fans at the Camp Nou have sold out, the club confirmed on Monday.
The Barça women's team, winners of an extraordinary league, cup and Champions League treble last season, will take on rivals Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on March 30.
After tweeting on Friday to say 70,000 tickets had already been snapped up, the club went one step further on Monday afternoon, announcing "tickets sold out".
🔝 El Camp Nou estarà ple per al Clàssic de @UWCL! ▶ https://t.co/3cDM3lefA8
— FC Barcelona Femení (@FCBfemeni) January 17, 2022
🙌¡El Camp Nou estará lleno para #ElClásico de Champions! ▶ https://t.co/xy9K3k2LIa
💙❤ #ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/QMBeR0IScZ
A statement on the club website said: "Camp Nou will be full for the game between Barça and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of this season's UEFA Women's Champions League. Fans and members have taken up all the tickets available for the game which is on 30 March, kick off 6.45pm CEST."
More tickets may become available "in the days leading up to the game with various organizations possibly returning tickets reserved under UEFA regulations."
85,000 tickets sold
The club confirmed to Catalan News that "approximately 85,000" tickets have been sold. The usual capacity of FC Barcelona's ground – the biggest stadium in Europe – is 99,354, but some 15% of tickets have to be held back under UEFA rules.
Due to the pandemic, attendances are currently restricted to 70%, but the club are banking on that cap being lifted before the game on March 30.
World record in sight
It looks very likely that the crowd will break at least two records in women's football: the highest attendance at a match in Spain and the highest attendance at a domestic club match anywhere in the world.
The current record – for both – is 60,739, set when Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid in March 2019.
If capacity restrictions are eased, the Catalan club could even beat the all-time world record crowd for the women's game. That was set during the 2012 Olympics in London when 80,203 people saw USA beat Japan in the gold medal match at Wembley.
Podcast
FC Barcelona Femení completed an unprecedented season in June winning the treble of the league, cup, and Champions League, while also inspiring new generations of girls to pursue a career in professional football. Have a listen to our Filling the Sink podcast episode on the greatness of this side published on June 12, 2021, for more details:
Alexia Putellas, Barça Femení's leader
One of the players expected to delight fans on March 30 is Alexia Putellas, who became the first Catalan and first female Barça player to receive the Ballon d’Or award on November 29, 2021. On January 17, 2022, she also became the first to win the FIFA The Best award.
She was also awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi, or Saint George's Cross, one of the most important civil honors given by the Catalan government that recognizes those who contribute to and enrich Catalonia's identity, usually from a cultural and civic point of view.