UEFA Announces New Venue for the Champions League Final:: All Nigeria Soccer

The Champions League final 2020/21 has been moved from Istanbul to Porto. The governing body finalized this decision on the 13th of May after several attempts to host the final in England.

Fans of both Manchester City and Chelsea would be allowed into the stadium to support their teams.

Initially, the Final was slated for Istanbul. Currently, the turkey nation is listed on the red list of the United Kingdom due to covid-19 breakout.

Movement from England to Istanbul is therefore restricted. This created an issue for the governing body because they had plans to allow fans into the stadium.

However, Porto happens to be favoured by being on England’s green list. The match would now be played at the Estadio Do Dragon stadium in Porto, allowing fans to be part of the event.

 

In his words, Aleksander Ceferin said, “I am delighted we reached a compromise.” Aleksander Ceferin made it clear that the UK’s decision to include Turkey in their red list was in good faith and acknowledged that it also created a significant challenge for the governing body.

Moving the location of the final would not be easy but would have to be done. Aleksander also noted that he is hoping that pretty soon, the Final would return to Turkey.

He acknowledges that the Turkish Football Federation has been a massive supporter of the Champions League and is hopeful that the relationship would keep thriving.

Several meetings would have to be fixed, and also new agreement would need to be made. But the body was capable of handling such situations.

This discussion was not finalized because there was no agreement met for VIPs, Sponsors, and broadcasters, etcetera, that is no quarantine exemption available for them.

This would be the first time in almost a year that football fans and supporters would be allowed to see their teams play live.

The Champions League final should be an exemption. At the very least, following the protocols, fans should be allowed into the stadium.

This is the reason why talks ended about Wembley and were taken elsewhere. Aleksander Ceferin said it was unfair to the fans if they could not watch their teams in the final.

Now fans are going to be present live in the stadium for the final. Twelve thousand fans from both Manchester City and Chelsea would attend the final match on the 29th of May, 2021.

Both teams are currently having discussions regarding ticketing and travel arrangements with UEFA.

Manchester City has a plan to offer fans a travel package from Manchester to Porto. Sales of tickets are slated to begin on the 24th of May, 2021.

However, a conclusion has not been reached regarding the capacity limit at the stadium. This would be the second time, simultaneously, that the UEFA Champions League final would be taking place in Portugal.

Last year in Lisbon, Bayern Munich took the Cup home after beating French giants Paris Saint-Germain in the finals 2019/20.

The fixture is also notable because it’s the first all-English meet in the UCL final since 2008. Chelsea and Man City have also faced each other twice in the past month, with Tuchel’s side emerging victorious.

It remains to be seen whether City will strike third-time lucky or Chelsea get their second UCL trophy.