Barca to play home opener at training ground as Camp Nou not ready

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Barcelona will kick off their home LaLiga campaign in front of 6,000 fans at their training ground stadium after Camp Nou renovation delays left the Spanish giants effectively homeless.

The club announced on Tuesday that they will face Valencia at the Johan Cruyff Stadium on Sunday, a modest venue at their Sant Joan Despi training facilities on the outskirts of Barcelona.

The move to stage their fourth LaLiga game this season there comes after the iconic Camp Nou renovation fell nine months behind schedule, forcing the club to find a temporary solution.

The cramped 6,000-seat venue required LaLiga to grant Barca a special exemption from competition rules requiring first-division clubs to have a minimum capacity of 15,000 seats.

League technicians have spent the past week inspecting the Johan Cruyff Stadium facilities and demanding essential adjustments, including VAR camera installations.

Barca had desperately hoped to return to a reduced-capacity Camp Nou with 27,000 spectators, but failed to obtain the necessary permits from Barcelona City Council.

The alternative Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium, where they have been staging their games for the past couple of seasons with the lowest attendance in their recent history, was ruled out after a Post Malone concert left the pitch in poor condition.