UEFA confirms rescheduling: Porto is awarded the CL final


UEFA confirms relocation
Postage is awarded for the CL final

The Champions League final this year is a purely British one: Manchester City is fighting against Chelsea FC for Europe’s football crown. In Corona times, London is therefore trying to steal the final from Istanbul. But now the game ends in Porto – the pandemic situation there is also relaxed there.

The Champions League winner will be crowned again in Portugal. As the European Football Union announced, the final will be postponed from Istanbul to Porto due to the corona pandemic – the decision had already been announced. On May 29, the English clubs Manchester City and Chelsea FC will meet with German coach Thomas Tuchel in the Estádio do Dragão. According to UEFA, 6,000 tickets per club will go on sale from this Thursday. “The fans had to suffer for more than twelve months without being able to see their teams live,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. “Denying the fans the chance to see the game in person was not an option and I am delighted that this compromise has been reached.”

The reason for the new installation are safety concerns. Before choosing Porto as an alternative location, the British government and UEFA had negotiated to play the final in London. Because Great Britain had put Turkey on a “red list” of countries from which direct entry into the United Kingdom is prohibited. Brits and residents in Great Britain must be in hotel quarantine for ten days at their own expense after they return home from these countries. The British government had emphasized that fans of the two English Premier League clubs are not allowed to travel to the final Istanbul.

Istanbul, which hosted Liverpool FC in 2005, has been left behind for the second time in a row: The Turkish metropolis was supposed to host the final of the premier class in the Ataturk Olympic Stadium last year. Instead, the quarter and semi-finals and the final were played in Lisbon due to the corona. “I hope to be able to attend a Champions League final and many other events in Istanbul and Turkey in the near future,” said Ceferin.

Istanbul is being put off until after 2024

The negotiations between the British government and UEFA had dealt with numerous details – but ultimately unsuccessful. Accordingly, the association had demanded a guarantee of quarantine-free entry for its delegates as well as journalists, media and guests of honor. For the game on May 29, only the Wembley Stadium in London was considered in Great Britain. At least 22,500 spectators should have been admitted there.

With the premier class final in Porto, the play-off for promotion to the Premier League, scheduled for May 29 at Wembley, can now take place as planned. Last year, UEFA also set the locations for the final until 2024. After that, Istanbul should host this year as compensation for the relocation in 2020.

Instead, after Lisbon 2020, it is now Porto with the 50,000-seat Estádio do Dragão on the train. The Russian city of St. Petersburg will host the event in 2022, Munich a year later and London in 2024. “I hope the final will be a symbol of hope that Europe has left a difficult period behind,” said Ceferin of the game in Porto.

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