Has the UEFA Champions League final outgrown Europe? Is it only a matter of time before club football’s biggest game is staged in the United States, the Middle East, or even further afield?
Last week, Juan Emilio Roa, the commercial director of South American confederation CONMEBOL, stated that discussions about hosting the Copa Libertadores outside of South America have taken place, primarily to capitalize on commercial opportunities. Still, UEFA’s issue is becoming a practical one rather than commercial or financial.
Despite the prestige of hosting the final, plus the potential financial boost for the local economy of the chosen city, UEFA announced last week that only Munich has submitted a bid to host the 2028 final, while only London and Barcelona have entered the race for the rights to hold the 2029 final.
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Barcelona has not hosted the Champions League final since Manchester United defeated Bayern Munich at Camp Nou in 1999 — in the outdated stadium, which fell off the final rota, but now been extensively renovated and will soon reopen. But Munich’s Allianz Arena staged this year’s final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan, while London’s Wembley Stadium was the venue in 2024, hosting the final for the third time in 13 years.
With UEFA stripping Milan of hosting rights in 2027 due to the failure of the city to give assurances that the San Siro would be in a fit state to stage the game — Inter and AC Milan confirmed plans this week to demolish the stadium and build a new 71,500-capacity arena on the existing site — Atlético Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano was announced in September as the new host, having most recently staged the final in 2019.
So are we heading towards a stateside Champions League final? Could we soon see Real Madrid versus Liverpool in New York City, or Bayern Munich against Paris Saint-Germain in Chicago?
“If the Champions League final was staged in the U.S., it would be a wild success,” Charlie Stillitano, a U.S.-based sports executive and promoter, told ESPN.
“Don Garber, the MLS commissioner, is on record as saying that the U.S. is the ATM of the soccer world, and I remember the former Manchester United and Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon telling me 20 years ago that the U.S. has 50 million football fans with money. It’s now probably 100 million, and there is an insatiable appetite for major sporting events in the U.S., especially a high-end product like the Champions League final.
“But UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin said recently that he wants European league games played on home soil when permission was given for Villarreal’s LaLiga game against Barcelona to be played in Miami, so because of that, I don’t see UEFA taking the Champions League final overseas anytime soon.”
This season’s UEFA Champions League final will be hosted in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Kristian Skeie – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Barcelona’s Miami clash with Villarreal has since been canceled, but plans are still in place for AC Milan to play their Serie A game against Como in Perth, Australia, next February. Although Ceferin expressed reservations about league games being played overseas, he said in 2023 that “it’s possible” for the Champions League final to be played in the U.S.
It is clear, however, that UEFA is faced with a dwindling pool of suitable host cities and stadiums for the game. Between the first edition of the rebranded Champions League in 1993 and Liverpool’s win against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005, twelve different cities staged the thirteen finals during that period, with only Munich’s Olympiastadion hosting it twice. Athens, Vienna, Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Glasgow (Hampden Park), Manchester (Old Trafford), Gelsenkirchen and Istanbul completed the varied list.
But sources have told ESPN that UEFA is now down to as little as four risk-free venues for future Champions League finals due to the requirements that each host city must meet to stage the game. It must have a stadium with a minimum capacity of 65,000 and surrounding space for a secure perimeter, but also significant infrastructure, including an international airport and substantial local transport system, as well as a capacity of hotel rooms able to cope with the influx of traveling supporters, sponsors, media, and VIPs.
The host stadium must also be able to provide a broadcasting compound — a sizable area to accommodate studios, heavy goods vehicles and communication lines — while there must also be sufficient corporate entertaining areas to satisfy the huge demand.
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With its 90,000 capacity, 161 corporate boxes and nine separate banqueting suites capable of hosting 18,000 guests, plus connections to four major airports, a vast public transport network and huge hotel space, sources have told ESPN that Wembley is regarded by UEFA as the perfect Champions League final venue.
The new Camp Nou, Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu and the Metropolitano have similar advantages, while Munich also ticks UEFA’s boxes, albeit with a smaller stadium and bank of hotel rooms.
Budapest will stage the 2026 final at the 67,100-capacity Puskás Aréna, but the occasion will stretch the Hungarian capital to the limits. It has one airport and a Soviet-era metro system, while the travel website Booking.com reports that 92% of accommodation in the city is already unavailable for the Champions League final weekend of May 29-30. If Budapest proves to be a success, it could open the door for similar-sized cities to bid to host the Champions League final. But, right now, UEFA’s options are limited.
Moscow (2008 host) and Saint Petersburg (which was due to host the 2022 final before it was relocated to Paris) are out of the question due to Russia being barred from UEFA competition since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv, host of the 2018 final, is also out of the question due to the ongoing conflict. Rome’s Stadio Olimpico has not staged the final since 2009, with neither the stadium nor the Italian capital’s infrastructure keeping pace with demands. Paris is unlikely to be considered until UEFA can be convinced that the crowd-control issues which overshadowed the 2022 final between Real Madrid and Liverpool will not be repeated.
Previous hosts such as Vienna, Amsterdam and Glasgow no longer possess suitable stadiums, while infrastructure and hotel space would also work against Athens, Lisbon, Manchester and Cardiff. Berlin would be a potential option should the city submit a bid, but Baku missed out on a bid to host in 2027, largely because of the difficulties facing supporters traveling in large numbers to Azerbaijan from Western Europe.
“I attended the 2019 Europa League final between Arsenal and Chelsea in Baku,” Stillitano said. “And let me tell you, it would have been easier and cheaper for the fans if the game was in New York rather than Azerbaijan.
“The US could definitely stage the Champions League final, no question. Over five million fans have already registered for World Cup tickets next year, so the appetite and money is there, but I think the most likely next step is a move for the Club World Cup to take place every two years.
“FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League are the three most powerful football organizations/brands in the world and FIFA and the Premier League have already arrived in the U.S. sporting landscape. So we’ll see what happens with UEFA, but I think it’s difficult for them to take the Champions League outside of Europe right now.”
Sources have said that UEFA has no existing plans to stage the Champions League final outside of Europe, but the organization now has a choice to make: Accept a reduced rota of as few as Champions League final host cities — London, Madrid, Munich, Barcelona — or go global and take the biggest game in club football to the world.
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