The Champions League final host for 2026 has been revealed today with the Puskas Arena in Budapest set to host the event. The stadium hosted the Europa League final in 2023 between Roma and Seville and has now been ‘promoted' to host the Champions League final.
There are some question marks around UEFA's decision to give the Champions League final to the Puskas Arena due to its capacity. The stadium only has a capacity of 67,215, which makes it significantly smaller than Wembley Stadium, which is set to host the final this year.
It isn't the smallest stadium to host the final in recent years, however, as both the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon (2021 hosts) and the Estádio do Dragão in Porto (2022 hosts) have smaller capacities.
UEFA were also meant to announce the hosts of the 2027 Champions League final today, however, that announcement has been delayed due to the unknown status of the San Siro. The famous old stadium in Milan is meant to undergo renovation work in the coming years but UEFA are seeking more information from the Italian Football Federation before awarding the stadium hosting rights for the 2027 final.
Women's Champions League final host for 2026 revealed
UEFA have still made further hosting announcements today. The 2026 Women's Champions League final host will be Oslo's Ullevaal Stadion. The Women's Champions League has been growing in popularity in recent years after the inaugural competition in 2010.
This year's final will be between Lyon and Barcelona and is set to be played at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao. The San Mamés Stadium has a capacity of 53,331 while the Ullevaal Stadion has a capacity of just 28,000, meaning UEFA are scaling back the number of fans that can attend the women's final just as they are with the men's.
🇳🇴 The 2026 Women's Champions League final will be held in Oslo, at the Ullevaal Stadion!
All the Executive Committee decisions: ⬇️#UWCLfinal
— UEFA (@UEFA) May 22, 2024
Further announcements to come from UEFA related to the 2026 and 2027 editions of the Europa League and Europa Conference League. The 2026 Europa League final will be held at Besiktas Park in Istanbul while the 20217 Europa League final will be held at Stadion Frankfurt in Germany.
Meanwhile, the Europa Conference League final in 2026 will be held at Leipzig's RB Arena and the 2027 Europa Conference League final will be held at Besiktas Park. This means that Istanbul will have held a UEFA final three times in four years from 2023-2027.