St Petersburg to host 2021 UEFA Champions League final – reports

Russia’s ‘northern capital’ St. Petersburg will host the 2021 UEFA Champions League final at the city’s Krestovksy Stadium, with Allianza Arena in Munich hosting the 2022 final, according to a report from The Associated Press.

On Friday, AP said they had spoekn to “two people with knowledge of the process say UEFA is putting forth St. Petersburg, Munich and Wembley as venues for a trio of Champions League finals.”

The report continued: “Russia and Germany had both been vying to host the final at the end of the 2020-21 season. But the 68,000-capacity home of Zenit St. Petersburg is now due to get that event, with UEFA giving the 75,000-seat Allianz Arena in Munich, which staged the 2012 final, another shot in 2022.”

Krestovksy Stadium was one of the host venues for last summer’s Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup and is home to the city’s football team Zenit St. Petersburg.

The only other time Russia has hosted the Champions League final was in 2008 in Moscow, when Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time at Luzhniki Stadium.

Zenit St. Petersburg were drawn in Group G alongside Benfica, Lyon, Liepzeg for the 2019/20 edition of the competition on Thursday.