The UEFA Executive Committee has approved a ‘settlement agreement’ with the two cities – Dublin and Bilbao – which were stripped of hosting rights to the 2020 UEFA European Championships, which includes the staging of future club competition finals.
The European football governing body recognised ‘the efforts and financial investment put by the two cities in preparing for the tournament’ after Dublin and Bilbao were forced to withdraw their hosting rights after it was announced that fans would be unable to attend fixtures.
As a result, Dublin will host the UEFA Europa League final in 2024, whereas Bilbao will host the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in 2024 and the UEFA Europa League final in 2025.
In addition, following the relocation of the 2021 UEFA Champions League final from Istanbul to Porto, UEFA opted to award the staging of the 2023 UEFA Champions League final to the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
Furthermore, the European Club Season Kick-Off event, which includes the draws for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League will take place in Istanbul at the end of August both for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.
Consequently, the 2023 UEFA Champions League final originally to be played in Munich will be moved to 2025. Wembley Stadium will retain the rights to stage the UEFA Champions League final in 2024.
