UEFA changes venue for Champions League final

In the extraordinary UEFA Executive Committee meeting that took place today, they decided to move the Final to Stade de France, Paris.

The UEFA EC, on Friday, decided to move the final of the 2021/22 UEFA Men’s Champions League to Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The game will be played on Saturday 28 May at 21:00 CET, as planned.

UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, called for an extraordinary meeting on Friday morning as the situation in Ukraine was rapidly escalating.

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Initially, the final was supposed to take place in St. Petersburg in the last week of May. However, due to unforeseen security circumstances in Russia, the venue had to be shifted.

Wembley was also being considered as a possible venue but Stade de France in Saint-Denis got the approval. Both Russian and Ukrainian clubs & national teams are required to play at neutral venues in European competitions until further notice.

The UEFA also extended support to footballers and their families in Ukraine in a statement, which said    ” Together with the French government, UEFA will fully support multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure the provision of rescue for football players and their families in Ukraine who face dire human suffering, destruction and displacement.”

UEFA delayed its decision to change the venue as they were not keen on doing so, as they had to do it the previous two times due to the Covid-19 crisis. However, due to pressure from the European Union and concern for players, fans, and media UEFA finally took the required action.