By Samindra Kunti in Amsterdam
March 3 – Budapest will host the 2022 Europa League final, UEFA’s Executive Committee decided on Tuesday. The body also awarded various other European finals to Helsinki, Kazan, Turin and Eindhoven respectively.
This summer, the brand-new Puskas Arena will stage four matches at Euro 2020 and, in two years’ time, the 67,215-capacity venue that opened in November 2019, will be revisited with the 2022 Europa League final.
The decision boosts Budapest’s portfolio of hosting major events, with the 2023 World Athletics Championships and the 2027 World Aquatics Championships that will be organised by the Hungarian capital.
Helsinki in Finland and Kazan in Russia will stage the 2022 and 2023 Super Cups respectively. In a statement UEFA said that: “The Albanian Football Association withdrew the candidature of Tirana for the UEFA Super Cup finals 2022 and 2023 ahead of the vote”.
UEFA’s choice for Kazan is somewhat controversial. The World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, has banned Russia from hosting major events for a four-year period as punishment for the manipulation of the Moscow Laboratory data. That ban only applies to world championships and the Olympic Games, but still the principle of solidarity in the fight against doping would theoretically not see major sporting events awarded to Russia at this stage.
In the women’s game, Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, will host the 2022 Women’s Champions League final, with PSV Stadium in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, named hosts in 2023.
“We are very happy with this awarding, which testifies to Juventus’ good work both in terms of sports facilities for high-profile international events, and the daily commitment to the development of women’s soccer that has risen to the fore in recent years” said Juventus chairman Andrea Angelli, who also sits on the UEFA Executive Committee.
The choice for both Eindhoven, a venue during Euro 2017, and Turin is a vote of confidence in the growth of the women’s game. Next season, the Women’s Champions League will enter a new era through the introduction of a 16-team group stage replacing the current knockout system. The new format, UEFA hopes, will generate more revenue and greater exposer.
The 2021 ordinary UEFA congress will be staged in Minsk, Belarus.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1713532355labto1713532355ofdlr1713532355owedi1713532355sni@t1713532355catno1713532355c1713532355