The UEFA Executive Committee has assigned the 2014 Champions League final to Lisbon’s Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, more commonly known as Estádio da Luz. The 2014 Europa League final will be played at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.
It will be the first time since 1967 that the European Cup final is played in Lisbon, though that game was played at the Estádio Nacional. The old Estádio da Luz did host the 1992 Cup Winners’ Cup final though, and in 2005 Lisbon’s second major stadium, Estádio José Alvalade, hosted the Europa League final.
The new Estádio da Luz will be ten years old next year, having been built for the 2004 European Championships when it hosted the final. The stadium counts with a capacity of 64,400 seats.
The Juventus Stadium has only been inaugurated last year, and boasts a relatively modest capacity of 41,000 seats. It is the first time an Italian stadium has hosted the Europa League final in the one-match format, though Stadio Olimpico hosted the Champions League final in 2009.
The Juventus Stadium will succeed the Amsterdam ArenA, which will host the Europa League final in 2013. This year’s final will be played at Bucharest’s brand new Arena Naţională.
This Champions League final of this year will be played at Munich’s Allianz Arena, whereas the honour to host the 2013 final goes to Wembley Stadium, which also hosted last year’s final.
Photos: © Massimo Catarinella