UEFA announce Champions League hosts, new Europa Conference League and Nations League changes
UEFA has announced the next three Champions League final venues, confirmed the name of a new European club competition – the Europa Conference League – and announced changes to the Nations League.
Saint Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena, Munich’s Allianz Arena and London’s Wembley will be the Champions League final venues from 2021 to 2023.
The governing body confirmed the allocation of the locations following a meeting in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana on Tuesday.
The 2021 showpiece will be at Zenit’s 68,000-capacity Gazprom Arena, making it the second time Russia has hosted a Champions League final following the 2008 clash between Manchester United and Chelsea at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
Germany will stage the 2022 climax at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, which holds 75,000 spectators, having hosted the final when Chelsea beat the Bavarian giants on penalties in 2012.
Wembley is the location picked for the 2023 Champions League edition – the eighth time the venue will have staged European club football’s showpiece contest.
The old Wembley hosted the finals of the European Cup in 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978 and 1992, before England’s national stadium was rebuilt and staged the Champions League’s conclusion in 2011 and 2013.
UEFA also announced the 2021 Europa League final will be held in Spain and hosted at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
The Europa Conference League will start in 2021, with matches played on Thursdays and kick-off times at 18:45 CET and 21:00 CET.
The new early kick-off time is also set to be in place for some Champions League matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2021, replacing the current 18:55 CET kick-off.
Meanwhile, from the 2020-21 season, the new Nations League structure will see 16 teams in Leagues A, B and C and seven teams in League D.
Those Leagues will be decided by countries’ overall ranking after the 2018-19 competition, which was won by Portugal, with the draw taking place in Amsterdam on March 3, 2020.
The format for the Nations League Finals, which sees the four group winners from League A meet in a knockout competition, will remain the same.
