The Uefa Champions League final could be staged at Wembley in its centenary year of 2023, according to confidential documents seen by the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
UK Sport, the Government-appointed elite sport funding body, believes the 2023 Champions League final – 100 years after the first FA Cup decider was held at Wembley – should be a “strategic priority”, according to the Telegraph.
The Champions League final was held at Wembley in both 2011 and 2013, while the stadium will stage the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020. Wales’ Principality Stadium hosted the championship match in 2017, with Spanish LaLiga club Real Madrid beating Italian Serie A league winners Juventus.
The Football Association has stated its aim to bid for the entire 2021 women’s European Championships, which was listed in the UK Sport documents as a “hosting target”.
UK Sport is “actively considering the feasibility of mega events in a number of other sports”. These include stages of the 2021 Tour de France and the 2027 or 2029 Athletics World Championships
UK Sport said yesterday (Thursday) it was investing almost £30m over the next eight years “to maintain the country’s position as a world-leading host of major sporting events”.
Forecasts of staged, secured and target events from UK Sport’s 2017-25 hosting programme include 7.2 million spectators and an anticipated economic impact of more than £440m, according to the Telegraph.
Minister for Sport Tracey Crouch said: “The UK has an incredible track record of hosting some of the biggest events in sport that help showcase the best of Britain to the world, make a significant contribution to the economy and encourage people to get involved in sport as volunteers and participants.
“We want to keep up our standing as a world leader in this area and UK Sport’s ambitious events strategy over the next eight years will help us do just that.”
