How are host stadiums for European finals chosen?
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The stadiums that host the annual finals of the European club competitions - the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League - are selected by governing body Uefa.
A few years before each final, the Uefa general secretary sends a letter to each of its 55 member associations inviting bids from prospective host nations and stadiums. The letter sets out which finals are available to bid for, and what the minimum criteria is for a bid to be submitted.
National football associations and stadium operators who are interested then work together to create a bid, attempting to present a convincing case in areas including stadium access, regional events, hospitality, and security.
Interested parties then submit a bid dossier to Uefa, which is evaluated against those submitted by rival bidders. During evaluation, Uefa may ask bidders for more information or firmer commitments on matters like renovations works.
Bidding periods are often open for multiple seasons, meaning bidders can ask to host a final in a specific year, or register their interest for any final across a period of a few years.
The 2024-25 Uefa Europa League final is being held at San Mames stadium in Bilbao
There are major economic benefits of hosting a final - the most notable being the sudden influx of tourism in the local region from travelling fans.
Newly constructed stadiums often bid for - and are awarded - major European finals. Hosting showpiece events helps operators offset the enormous outlay of building a new arena, Uefa can be keen to reward investment in new football infrastructure, and newer stadiums benefit from up-to-date facilities.
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What criteria must stadiums meet to host Uefa finals?
Uefa ranks stadiums across Europe in four categories, with one being the lowest and four the highest.
Only category-four stadiums can host major finals. A category-four stadium must have a capacity of at least 8,000 and meet a plethora of other qualifying criteria, which include stringent rules on facilities including:
Pitch and dressing-room sizes
Level of floodlighting
CCTV coverage
Number of turnstiles, media working positions, and parking spaces for broadcast vans and VIPs
Regional infrastructure - like airport capacity, number of available hotel rooms, and transport - is also taken into account when bids are appraised.
What about stadium capacity for finals?
The men's Champions League final is typically held in stadiums with a capacity of at least 65,000, and in the past four seasons only stadiums with more than 70,000 seats have been chosen.
Only three stadiums with a capacity less than 60,000 have hosted the Champions League final this century - Hampden Park in Glasgow in 2002 (51,866), Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen in 2004 (54,740), and Porto's Estadio do Dragao (50,033) in the Covid-impacted 2021 final.
For the Europa League, the most recent letter of invitation circulated by Uefa stipulated bidding stadiums were required to have a capacity of 40,000-60,000.
The Conference League was launched by Uefa in 2021 with the goal of giving clubs in less economically strong national leagues the opportunity to compete in the latter stages of European competition, and so far the tournament's finals have been held in smaller stadiums in countries that do not typically host major events.
The 42,000-capacity Wroclaw Stadion in Poland, which will host the 2024-25 showpiece, will become the largest to have hosted the Conference League final.
In previous seasons, the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens (32,500) and the Fortuna Arena in Prague (19,370) have both hosted the final.
Which stadiums are in Uefa category four?
Uefa does not publish a full list of stadiums and categories, but all current English stadiums which have hosted Champions League football in the past 10 years - Anfield, Emirates Stadium, Etihad Stadium, King Power Stadium, Old Trafford, St James Park, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Villa Park and Wembley - are category four.
There are five category four stadiums in Scotland - Celtic Park, Hampden Park, Ibrox, Murrayfield, and Tynecastle.
Other major arenas across Europe including the Stadio Olympico in Rome, the Bernabeu in Madrid, and the Nou Camp in Barcelona also sit in category four.
Where will the 2026 and 2027 Uefa finals be held?
Uefa has already announced some of the host venues for its future finals.
Men's Champions League
Puskas Arena – Budapest, Hungary – 67,215 – 30 May 2026
Women's Champions League
Ullevaal Stadion - Oslo, Norway - 28,000 - 22-24 May 2006
Europa League
Besiktas Stadium – Istanbul, Turkey – 42,590 – 20 May 2026
Waldstadion – Frankfurt, Germany – 58,000 – 26 May 2027
Conference League
Red Bull Arena – Leipzig, Hungary – 47,800 – 27 May 2026
Besiktas Stadium – Istanbul, Turkey – 42,590 – 2 June 2027
The 2027 men's Champions League final was originally awarded to the San Siro in Milan, Italy, but concerns over refurbishment plans mean the decision was revoked in 2024.
No replacement host has yet been announced, but Uefa has narrowed down its choice to two options - the 70,000-capacity Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, which last held the final in 2019, and the 69,870-capacity Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, which previously hosted the same year’s Europa League final.
On Tuesday, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) deferred its bid to host the 2027 Uefa Women's Champions League final to a later date.
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