Irish stadium chief announces bold Champions League plan ahead of Man Utd arrival

Dublin's Croke Park have outlined their bold objective to host a Champions League final in the future.

The venue was recently confirmed as the venue for Manchester United's pre-season friendly against fellow Premier League side Leeds United on Wednesday 12, August.

The match will be the first football match at the historic home of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 2009. The friendly will also be the first-ever club football game at a venue which banned football and rugby until 2005.

Stadium and commercial director, Peter McKenna, has now revealed his ambitions to bring a Champions League final to Croke Park.

“The capacity of 82,000 and successfully running an event like the Man United v Leeds fixture, all that would go to prove our credentials. It would help to say ‘why not consider Dublin?“, McKenna told The Athletic.

“It is a city that gives a great atmosphere, and a Champions League final in Croke Park would be fantastic.”

UEFA prefers to stage the Champions League's biggest game in stadiums with more than 65,000, which, in theory, should not be an issue for one of Europe's largest venues. However, the terraced part of the stadium could prove to be a stumbling block and would likely require temporary seating to even be considered as a contender.

Why Croke Park may have to wait until at least 2031 for UCL dream?

Croke Park's hopes of staging the first Champions League final in the Republic of Ireland may need to be put on hold for the time being. That is because the next available slot may not open until the 2030-31 competition.

May's Champions League final will take place at the Puskás Arena in Budapest, before Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano hosts the 2026-27 final.

Looking further ahead, Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena is the only stadium to express an interest in hosting the 2028 final, while Barcelona's Camp Nou and England's Wembley Stadium are reportedly in pole position to host the showpiece event in 2029 and 2030, respectively.

FGG says: Worthwhile venture

Croke Park appears to be making a real effort to establish a reputation as a venue that can hold all types of events, as demonstrated by the fact that the stadium held its first NFL regular season game in September 2025. The stadium has also been rumoured as a potential venue for Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua in a major boxing card that could include Katie Taylor’s retirement fight. 

Hosting the Champions League final would further prove that Croke Park is a suitable venue to host the biggest games in sport, and it would represent a signicant boost for football in the Republic of Ireland.