Barcelona have appointed a company to work with fans on an area to “lead the crowd chants” when the club returns to Camp Nou.
Barca’s board approved plans on Monday for an “animation space”, saying they will “listen to everyone” and aim to approve proposals in June and July before a “definition of the new sector and its members” is made in August or September.
The LaLiga leaders have been playing at the city’s 49,472-capacity Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys since last season while major revovation works take place at the stadium they have called home since 1957.
📽 A look at the visit to Spotify Camp Nou by president Joan Laporta, Deco, Flick, Lamine Yamal, Gavi, and Pedri pic.twitter.com/EwGk4wBH5y
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 17, 2024
Spotify Camp Nou: Stadium set for new section
“The plan is to engage in dialogue with all stakeholders who may have an interest in a dedicated ‘animation space’,” Barcelona said. “[This includes] club members, players, staff, and experts in such supporter schemes, among many others.”
Barcelona’s ultras, known as the Boixos Nois, were banned from matches and travelling to away games during club president Joan Laporta’s first spell at the helm in 2003.
The group are not involved in the Supporters’ Stand at Barcelona’s temporary home, which was closed indefinitely in November.
The club said the groups making up the stand should pay the total of around £18,000 they have been fined by LaLiga, European football administrative body Uefa and the Catalonian government over fan incidents since the start of 2023/24.
One of those punishments came in September, when Uefa fined the club €10,000 (almost £9,000) after a banner with Nazi connotations was displayed in the away end during their Champions League game at Monaco.
The groups have said they are not responsible for the fines, while Football Supporters Europe offered solidarity and said Barcelona had taken action “without providing evidence” that the culprits “are actually associated with the active groups”.
Installed! ✅ The first seats at Spotify Camp Nou! pic.twitter.com/o8gFsLW6CI
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 10, 2024
When will Camp Nou reopen? Latest on date
Barcelona had hoped to return to Camp Nou in the middle of this season but announced in January that the timeframe has been delayed until at least May.
The project is providing the iconic stadium with a new roof and an increased capacity of 105,000 that will make it the largest in Europe when work is fully completed in 2026.
While Barca’s average attendance was 83,498 at Camp Nou in 2022/23, that figure dropped to 39,843 last season and has been 45,010 so far in 2024/25, according to Transfermarkt.
Some fans told The Athletic they had stopped attending after becoming disenchanted with the way the team played during former manager Xavi’s final season in charge, while others told the outlet they had been unimpressed with the club deciding to raise and then lower ticket prices.