2020 UEFA Champions League Final to be played in Istanbul

ANKARA

The 2020 UEFA Champions League Final will be played at Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium, which has a 76,092-seat capacity, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on May 24.

Erdoğan made the announcement at the meeting of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary candidates at the Ankara Sports Hall.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin confirmed the announcement in Kiev.

Istanbul was chosen over Lisbon by the UEFA executive committee, which will also decide in September whether Turkey or Germany should host the 2024 European Championship.

Inaugurated in 2002, Atatürk Olympic Stadium will host its second Champions League final after the one in 2005 between Italy’s AC Milan and England’s Liverpool.

The 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul produced one of the competition’s most memorable matches. Liverpool trailed 3-0 at halftime against AC Milan, but leveled midway through the second half and won a penalty shootout.

The 2020 Europa League final will be played in Gdansk, Poland, while the Super Cup between the Champions League and Europa League winners will be at Estadio do Dragao in Portugal.

The women’s Champions League final will be staged at Austria Arena in Vienna.

Separately, Vodafone Park in Istanbul, the home of Beşiktaş, will host the UEFA Super Cup final match in 2019.

The Vodafone Park by the Bosphorus was built in 2016 to replace the Black Eagles’ historic İnönü Stadium.