Uefa Super Cup: Northern Ireland's Windsor Park to host 2021 event
- Published
A major redevelopment of the Windsor Park ground was completed in 2016
Uefa has announced that Windsor Park, Northern Ireland's National Stadium, will host the 2021 Super Cup final.
Belarus, Finland and Ukraine had all expressed interest in staging the European football season's curtain raiser.
Windsor Park lost out to Istanbul in the bid to host the the 2019 event.
Champions League winners Liverpool beat Europa League victors Chelsea 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in this year's final in Turkey.
The Belfast stadium, which was refurbished in 2016, is the home of Irish Premiership club Linfield and has a capacity of 18,614 for football matches.
In August 2018, 24,000 attended the boxing bill featuring Carl Frampton's win over Luke Jackson and Tyson Fury's comeback victory against Francesco Pianeta.
In 2011, the Europa League final between Portuguese teams Porto and Braga was played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
The Uefa Executive Committee in Ljubljana, Slovenia, also confirmed adjustments to the Nations League, with Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland remaining in the 16-team League B for the 2020/21 draw.
'Brilliant for Belfast'
"I'm absolutely delighted that the Super Cup will be played in Northern Ireland," said David Martin, President of the Irish Football Association.
"We targeted this particular event as it's the only prestigious final that we could bid for due to Windsor Park's capacity.
"This is our third application for the Super Cup, but the quality of our bid demonstrates how the Irish FA has progressed in the last five years.
"You have to have the facilities and that's a big positive in attracting these types of events.
Champions League winners Liverpool beat Europa League victors Chelsea 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in Istanbul
"It will be a fantastic occasion and it's brilliant for the city, stadium and the Irish FA.
"We're also aiming to co-host the Under-21 Euro 2023 championships with the Republic of Ireland and hopefully we can bring that competition to both countries.
"We have made an indication that we are going to bid, so hopefully we can meet all the necessary criteria.
"There's plenty to look forward to in football in Northern Ireland."