Camp Nou to host 2029 Champions League final
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GENEVA (AP):
Barcelona’s renovated Camp Nou has been selected ahead of Wembley Stadium in London to host the 2029 Champions League final, UEFA said yesterday, in a further sign of improved relations following the divisive European Super League project.
The decision gives Barcelona a marquee match one year before Spain co-hosts the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Morocco. The venue for the 2030 final is expected to be contested by Real Madrid’s renovated Santiago Bernabéu and the 115,000-seat stadium being built in Casablanca.
UEFA’s executive committee also confirmed that the 2028 Champions League final will return to Bayern Munich’s stadium, which was the only bidder, just three years after hosting the 2025 edition.
Barcelona’s success comes seven months after the club formally withdrew from legal action against UEFA linked to the Super League project spearheaded by leading European clubs and which quickly collapsed in 2021.
The long-delayed redevelopment of the 105,000-seat Camp Nou, which will be Europe’s largest football stadium, is continuing, with the upper tier and roof still under construction.
“In addition to its size,” Barcelona said yesterday in a statement, “it offers a hospitality and VIP experience that is unique in Europe, enabling new standards of service and comfort for guests and fans alike.”
More tickets for fans
The larger capacity should also allow more supporters of the finalists to secure tickets. Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal were each allocated 17,200 tickets from the 61,400 available for the Champions League final played in May at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
Barcelona last hosted the Champions League final in 1999 when Manchester United scored twice in stoppage time to stun Bayern Munich. Camp Nou also staged the 1989 European Cup final.
Wembley has hosted the showpiece three times since Barcelona last did so, in 2011, 2013, and 2024, and eight times overall since the competition began 71 years ago.
This season’s Champions League final will be played at Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium.
Record eight-time Women’s Champions League winners Lyon will host the final in 2028.
UEFA also selected Cardiff to host the 2029 Women’s Champions League final at the national stadium in the city centre, which will stage the opening match of the men’s 2028 European Championship.
Europa League finals awarded
UEFA also selected hosts for two editions of the Europa League, with Romania’s national stadium in Bucharest to stage the 2028 final and the new Serbian national stadium, currently under construction on the outskirts of Belgrade, to host the 2029 showpiece.
Serbian football has developed closer ties with UEFA and will co-host the men’s Under-21 European Championship next year with Albania.
The decision came just nine days after players and supporters of Belgrade’s biggest clubs, Red Star and Partizan, paid tribute during a match at the city’s main stadium to convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, who died last month in The Hague.
UEFA fined Red Star this month after fans chanted in honour of Mladic during a Europa League match on the day of his death.
This season’s Europa League final will be played at Eintracht Frankfurt’s Waldstadion.
Turin will host the 2028 final of the third-tier Conference League at Juventus’ 41,000-seat stadium, while the 2029 final will be staged at the 67,000-seat Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
The success of the Conference League since its launch in 2021 has seen its final venues outgrow the 20,000-seat stadiums that hosted the first two title matches in Tirana, Albania, and Prague, Czech Republic.
Juventus has also benefited from improved relations with UEFA after withdrawing from the Super League legal action in 2023.
Real Madrid was the last of the 12 Super League founding clubs to abandon the project and reached a settlement with UEFA in February. The Bernabéu, which now accommodates crowds of 78,000 for major matches, has hosted a European Cup or Champions League final four times, most recently in 2010.