Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'

Barcelona are hoping to return to their legendary Camp Nou stadium, currently undergoing modernisation and expansion work, "by the end of the year," club spokesperson Elena Fort said on Monday.

The Catalan giants' construction roadmap was presented to the press on Monday, with officials insisting the club was "actively working" to return to the Camp Nou "by the end of the year" with an initial 62,000 capacity, instead of the 105,000 planned at the end of the work.

The stadium should be completed in the summer of 2026, when the project dubbed "Espai Barca" will be finished and the stadium roof installed.

Barcelona fans will be able in the coming days to register to buy a six-month partial season ticket for the latter part of the campaign.

Work on the Camp Nou got underway in June 2023 but was slowed over permit complications and complaints over working conditions.

As a result Barca requested to extend their contract for the use of the Montjuic Olympic stadium "until March 31, 2025, as a precaution." (AFP)