With FC Barcelona’s long-awaited return to Camp Nou for the Joan Gamper Trophy scheduled for August 10, only a few weeks remain. However, what should be a triumphant homecoming could turn into yet another setback.

A duty filled with uncertainty: Gamper as a trial by fire

The club is required to host the Gamper Trophy match at its stadium, even with a very limited audience, in order to validate the operational readiness of 475 VIP suites—sold for a total of €100 million. Yet, the club’s aspirations clash with institutional caution. Mayor Jaume Collboni and his first deputy, Laia Bonet, have tempered Barça fans’ excitement, stressing that any stadium inauguration requires a first-use license, which will only be granted once work on the first and second tiers is completed.

If the Gamper match is moved to the Estadi Johan Cruyff instead of Spotify Camp Nou, Barça would lose the chance to demonstrate the operability of the VIP areas—meaning the club could miss a critical financial lever needed to meet LaLiga’s 1:1 rule on spending.

© FC Barcelona

Symbolic attendance

In recent weeks, the club had ambitiously projected a crowd of 60,000 for the Gamper Trophy, envisioned as a festive return to their historic ground. However, that number now seems out of reach. Even the more modest estimate of 25,000 fans appears too high under current conditions. Barça’s absolute priority is to obtain a temporary operating license, even if the attendance must be merely symbolic, just to stage the match and validate the VIP operations.

Barça’s vice president for institutional affairs, Elena Fort, confirmed in an interview with La Vanguardia that a stress test will be conducted before the Gamper match without any public attendance. Only technical staff and City Council representatives will be present. This simulation will be decisive in determining whether authorities will approve the match at Spotify Camp Nou.