Barcelona to play two Women's Champions League group games at Camp Nou

Barcelona have announced that Women’s Champions League group games against Bayern Munich and Rosengard this season will be played at Camp Nou.

Usually playing home games at the 6,000-capacity Estadi Johan Cruyff, Barça hosted two Champions League at Camp Nou last season against Real Madrid and Wolfsburg.

In each case, more than 91,000 fans were in attendance, setting a world record for a women’s football match against Real and then breaking it against Wolfsburg.

The game against Bayern on 24 November and Rosengard on 21 December will now follow at Camp Nou. Only this month’s visit of Benfica will be left at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.

Barça have previously given away free tickets to club members for their Champions League games at Camp Nou. On this occasion, members will still have advanced and discounted access to tickets, but the crucial factor is that those tickets will be sold rather than handouts.

Advance sale member tickets will also be limited to 40,000 and when tickets later go on general sale 24 hours later they will be priced from €11 to €26.

Speaking when Arsenal sold more than 50,000 tickets for the recent WSL north London derby, Jonas Eidevall seemed to make a pointed dig at clubs who have given away free tickets in the past.

"I don't want to sound arrogant, but I don't think we should compare attendance figures with giveaway tickets and sold tickets," he said.

"I don't think it's fair when you're doing that comparison. If you giveaway tickets, it's something else. When you sell tickets, that's how you run a football club."

Barcelona will be hoping to go all the way in the Champions League again this season after being beaten in the 2022 final by Lyon and relinquishing the trophy they had won in 2021. But they will to do without captain Alexia Putellas for most of the campaign, while Jenni Hermoso has left.

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