Bernabeu issue, disadvantage Dortmund! Why the Champions League final is taking place in Munich again
In 2028, the Champions League final will once again be held at Munich’s Allianz Arena. That is surprising only at first glance.
A first version of this article was published at the end of July.
Just over a year has passed since Paris Saint-Germain tore Inter Milan apart 5-0 at Munich's Allianz Arena to win the Champions League for the first time. In less than two years, the competition's showpiece match will return to Munich, UEFA announced on Tuesday.
"That is great news for us," said Jan-Christian Dreesen, chief executive of Bayern Munich. "The Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich and Munich stand for international appeal, genuine hospitality and the highest organisational quality. UEFA know that, and sports fans from all over the world experience it."
Munich will stage the final for the sixth time in 2028. The Olympic Stadium hosted it three times. Then came the legendary Finale dahoam at the Allianz Arena in 2012, when Bayern Munich lost to Chelsea in a penalty shootout, followed by the 2025 edition. So why is Munich getting another turn so quickly?
Right now, only a handful of stadiums in Europe offer ideal conditions for a Champions League final. That is why the Allianz Arena, the only official bidder for 2028, has become something of UEFA's living room. The 2027 final will go to Madrid's Metropolitano, which also hosted in 2019. London's Wembley has had it three times in the past 15 years.
Barcelona get the 2029 final
UEFA's basic requirements for hosting a Champions League final are natural grass, pitch dimensions of 105 by 68 metres and a capacity of 70,000. On capacity, however, UEFA allow a tolerance limit of ten per cent, so 63,000 seats is the absolute minimum. That currently applies to 22 football stadiums in Europe. Because of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, hosting in St Petersburg, Moscow or Kyiv is out of the question. That leaves 19.
Europe's biggest stadium is Camp Nou in Barcelona. Lengthy rebuilding work, delays and the uncertainty around them kept it out of the running in recent years. Now the new Camp Nou is close to completion and has immediately been awarded the 2029 final.
Real Madrid's Bernabeu is probably Europe's most famous stadium and, since its redevelopment, also the most modern. The fact it has not been used as a final venue since 2010 is likely linked to the long-running feud between Real president Florentino Perez and UEFA. Keyword: Super League. On top of that, UEFA apparently prefer the Metropolitano as an alternative in the same city.
Dortmund are apparently considering a bid after 2029
Milan's San Siro is seen as outdated and is due to be replaced before long by a new-build stadium. Rome, Athens and Istanbul have also hosted in recent years, but their venerable Olympic stadiums, with running tracks and a lack of amenities, are no longer really up to date.
Less clearly defined, but still important, are the city's infrastructure, proximity to a major airport, the number of hotel beds in the city, especially in the luxury sector, and the number of boxes in the stadium. For that reason, Manchester's Old Trafford, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Marseille's Velodrome, Baku's National Stadium, Seville's La Cartuja and Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park are considered less than ideal. Even so, according to a report by Sport Bild, Dortmund are trying to host a Champions League final for the first time after 2029.
That leaves only a small group of venues with ideal conditions: the Allianz Arena, Wembley, the Metropolitano, Budapest's Puskas Arena, which hosts in 2026, the Stade de France, most recently used in 2022, Lisbon's Estadio da Luz, which hosted in 2020, and Berlin's Olympic Stadium, last used in 2015.
