DStv Premiership

Barca to leave Camp Nou for 2023/24 season

Spanish giants Barcelona will play their home games during the 2023/24 season at the Olympic Stadium in the city with work due to begin on revamping Camp Nou.

Barca members approved a €1.5 billion funding package to regenerate the club’s ageing 99,354-seater stadium and the surrounding area in a referendum last December.

A licence has now been granted by the local council to begin the developments, with work set to start in June, when the existing campaign ends. It will take four years for the renovation to be carried out.

Club President Joan Laporta said most of the construction can be carried out alongside sporting activity, but the club will have to vacate their home for one season in 2023/24.

Laporta had hoped to be able to play at the 6,000-seater Johan Cruyff stadium at the club’s training ground, but plans to increase the capacity were not viable at this moment in time.

Instead, they will temporarily relocate to the Olympic Stadium in the Montjuic area of the city.

The ground was previously home to Barca’s rivals Espanyol, who played there between 1997 and 2009, and was also where Lionel Messi made his competitive debut for the Blaugrana.

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