With four years to go until the 2030 World Cup, preparations for the tournament continue. In March, FIFA will visit the Spanish venues, starting with Camp Nou, which is still fighting for the final, but also for the licence that would allow FC Barcelona to open Gol Nord.

A half-empty Camp Nou prepares for inspection

FIFA will visit the venues for the 2030 World Cup this March, starting with Barcelona. Representatives from the international federation will arrive in the Catalan capital on Monday to inspect both Camp Nou and RCDE Stadium. However, it is the Blaugrana temple that is in the spotlight, as it remains in the fight for the tournament final.

The task facing FIFA inspectors, however, is not an easy one: Camp Nou is still a long way from resembling the version shown in the project visualisations. With the third tier of stands still under construction, the incomplete and uncovered façade, the venue looks more like a mid-table team's medium-sized stadium than a true football icon and one of the largest venues in the world.

Therefore, the visit will be more of an initial contact. Even so, FC Barcelona must make a good impression on the inspectors if it wants to convince them that its stadium is a better venue for the World Cup final than Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid and Stade Hassan II in Casablanca.

© FC Barcelona | Once completed, Camp Nou, with 105,000 seats, will be the largest stadium in Europe.

Barça still waiting for 1C licence

Meanwhile, the wait continues for the licence for phase 1C of the Camp Nou reconstruction work. Without it, Barça cannot open Gol Nord. The result is a capacity of 45,400 instead of 62,000, which generates financial losses and does not help the atmosphere during matches.

The goal is still to open the stands for the match against Sevilla on March 15, a date that coincides with the FC Barcelona elections. However, it’s still unclear whether this plan will succeed. The curious thing is that, despite not having the licence, Barça has already begun the process of selling season tickets for the remainder of the season in Gol Nord.