We’ve been trying to get the proper venue for the Champions League final designated by UEFA and we finally have an alternative.
UEFA has been thinking about moving the Champions League final away from Istanbul due to the UK’s decision to ban travel to Turkey. With the Covid-19 pandemic still raging on, even the federation is already thinking about possible alternatives. Given that both finalists are from England, the UK Government attempted to push for the final to take place at Wembley Stadium.
However, the final decision appears to be shifting towards making the event happen in Portugal. Do Dragao Stadium in the city of Porto is the tentative place where the final might happen as The Times just revealed in a report. According to this publication, Portugal is one of the UK’s ‘green list’ countries where the pandemic is mostly under control. Although a final decision hasn’t been made yet, it seems Portugal is looking like the strongest potential candidate.
Why is Wembley not ideal for the final?
Even though the England FA proposed Wembley as an ideal place for the final to take place, UEFA is rejecting this notion with good reason. All Covid-19 protocols and mandatory quarantine to outside visitors is a major issue for every journalist who is attending the event. If they chose to host the final, these protocols would require for all those people to schedule their visit at least 15 days before the match.
That needs to be by the end of this week and many of those journalists are still trying to cancel their flights to Istanbul. This quickly became a logistical nightmare where members of the media are the ones suffering the most. If the game takes place in Portugal, these restrictions are much less severe for travelers coming from other countries. A final decision has to be made by Thursday and we will keep you posted on what happens.
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