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FA bids for 2023 Champions League final to mark Wembley centenary

The English Football Association (FA) has submitted a bid to host the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium in 2023 to mark the 90,000-capacity venue’s centenary year.

The FA submitted its proposal by the deadline of July 1 when all bids to the governing body of European football were due.

The final decision will be made during UEFA’s executive committee meeting on September 24 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Wembley, which filled in as the home ground of Tottenham Hotspur between 2017 and April 2019 while the Premier League club’s new stadium was constructed, previously hosted the Champions League final in 2011 and 2013.

The famous stadium was originally opened in 1923, making the 2023 Champions League final a fitting way to mark its centenary year. It has hosted other major matches throughout its history, including the 1966 World Cup final.

Wembley Stadium was closed in 2000 and demolished in 2002 to make way for the construction of a new venue in its footprint, which was completed in 2007.

The FA’s bid has been backed by the Mayor of London with a spokesperson for Sadiq Khan telling Standard Sport: “London is the sporting capital of the world and the Mayor wants to bring the biggest and the best events to the city.

“He is proud to support the FA’s bid for Wembley to host the final of the 2023 UEFA Champions League.

“It would have been 10 years since London last hosted the Champions League final and in 2023 we will celebrate the centenary of the opening of the original Wembley Stadium.

“Wembley will host the final of the men’s Euro 2020 and Women’s Euro 2021, and so bringing the biggest club game in world football back to London would make this a great period for sport in the capital.”

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