The German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed that Berlin’s Olympiastadion will continue to host the final of the DFB-Pokal cup competition until at least 2025.
The new five-year deal has been agreed with the City of Berlin, with the previous agreement having been due to expire at the end of 2020. The deal was signed ahead of Saturday’s DFB-Pokal final, which saw Bayern Munich defeat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2.
The Olympiastadion, which has a capacity of 74,000, has hosted the final of the DFB-Pokal since 1985. Saturday’s match was played in an empty stadium due to ongoing crowd restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new agreement will officially run from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2025. The deal has been signed following rumours that the match could move to Allianz Arena, home of Bayern Munich, but the DFB said that it had never planned on stripping Berlin of hosting rights.
DFB president Fritz Keller said: “This festival of football deserves a worthy framework – so we are very happy that the DFB-Pokal final will continue to take place in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium in the future.
“Of course, our great hope is that we will be full again next year. The atmosphere in the capital and the atmosphere in the stadium on this day are unique. Fans and players rave about an event that doesn’t have to shy away from any comparison. Berlin and the DFB-Pokal final simply belong together.”
The Olympiastadion is home to Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin, which has been exploring options for a new ground for a number of years. In February, the club said that the Olympiapark is its preferred location for a new stadium, which it would favour ahead of the redevelopment of its current home.
Hertha stated in February that Maifeld would be a “very suitable” site for the stadium. Maifeld is the open-air site adjacent to the Olympiastadion that was developed by the Nazi regime in the 1930s to host the annual May Day celebrations and other propaganda events.
Image: DFB
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