St. Petersburg bids to host 2021 UEFA Champions League final
Russian city St. Petersburg is one of two contenders to host the 2020-21 season UEFA Champions League final, along with German capital Munich, the organization confirmed on Thursday.
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European football’s governing body announced the two cities had declared their interest in hosting the biggest match on the continent, the bidding procedure for which was opened on September 28, and closed on the October 26 deadline.
The Champions League final has been held in Russia just once before, at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow in 2008, where Manchester United bested domestic rivals Chelsea on penalties to claim their third European title.
In the event of a winning bid, the second prospective final held in Russia would be staged at the 68,000 capacity St Petersburg Stadium, located on the city’s Krestovsky Island and home to local side Zenit.
The stadium was one of 12 host venues chosen for the Russia 2018 World Cup this summer, hosting seven games during the tournament, the last being England’s 3rd place play-off match with Belgium.
We're in the running to host the 2⃣0⃣2⃣1⃣ @ChampionsLeague final! #UCL 🏟️https://t.co/lY6ZZCXkV0pic.twitter.com/v8ccROq70b
— FC Zenit in English🌊 (@fczenit_en) November 1, 2018
"The Russian Football Union (RFU) has made knwon its interesy in hosting the 2021 Champions League final in St. Petersburg," RFU acting president Aleksandr Alayev said in a statement.
"We notified UEFA and now await a working meeting, where talks on the nuances of this process will take place with all candidates, planned for the end of November.
"This unique all-weather stadium, one of the best in Europe and located in the centre of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is ready to host the final of the UEFA's most prestigious club football tournament," he added.
Munich’s Arena München (Allianz Arena), which is the location for the final should the German bid be successful, last held a Champions League final in 2012, when Chelsea were this time successful on spot kicks to beat home side Bayern Munich and win their maiden European title.
The declarations of interest are not binding and formal bids are to be confirmed with a full dossier by February 15, to be reviewed by the UEFA Select Committee in May or June 2019.
Vienna, Tbilisi and Seville were the three cities that declared interest in hosting the UEFA Europa League final in the same year.
Capital cities Minsk, Helsinki and Belfast were alongside Kharkiv in submitting bids to host the UEFA Super Cup, in which the winners of the Champions League and Europa League meet in a one off match.
The 2021 Women’s Champions League final will be played in either Prague, Czech Republic, or Gothenburg, Sweden.
