UEFA has announced that the Champions League final will be held at Wembley Stadium in 2024.
Three years from now, Wembley will host the final following the Euro 2020 final debacle that saw over five thousand ticketless hooligans force their way into the London stadium and take over empty seats and corridors inside the stadium. In the aftermath of Sunday’s match, the FA was left red-faced after UEFA charged them over the chaotic scenes. Despite all of the above, Wembley will host the final in three years. It is just 11 years since the city hosted the European final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
UEFA also announced that Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium will host the 2023 Champions League final. UEFA had originally planned for the Turkish venue to host the 2020 and 2021 matches, but the coronavirus pandemic forced changes in both years. A ‘mini-tournament’ final-eight took place in Lisbon last year, while Manchester City’s all-English meeting with Chelsea was changed to Porto at the last minute.
In light of the latest decision, rather than hosting the final in 2023, Munich’s Allianz Arena will host it in 2025. St Petersburg will host the encounter next year. In addition, European football’s governing body announced that the finals of the Europa League will take place in Dublin in 2024 and Bilbao in 2025. The final for the Women’s Champions League in 2024 has also been awarded to Bilbao. Prior to the pandemic, both cities were scheduled to host Euro 2020 matches.
A statement by UEFA on its website added: ‘Following the withdrawal of hosting rights for UEFA Euro 2020 from two of the original host’s cities, the UEFA executive committee today approved a settlement agreement which includes the staging of future club competition finals, recognising the efforts and financial investment put (in) by the two cities in preparing for the tournament.’
