OFFICIAL : UEFA Champions League Final destination shifted from Istanbul to Porto

OFFICIAL : UEFA Champions League Final destination shifted from Istanbul to Porto

Estadio De Dragao is the new venue for the Champions League final this year

The All-English UEFA Champions League final has finally been moved away from Turkey to Porto of Portugal as England refused to relinquish Covid-19 quarantine rules for people visiting Turkey. Chelsea and Manchester City will now face each other at the Estadio Dragao stadium of Porto for the Champions League final this year.

In what will come as a good news to fans, 6000 fans from each side will be allowed to visit the match in-person also showing signs of football returning to some sort of normalcy after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Champions League final was scheduled to be played in Istanbul this year

Istanbul stadium
Istanbul stadium was the allotted venue to host the final this year

Explaining the move, UEFA said in a statement: “After a year of fans being locked out of stadiums, UEFA thought that everything needed to be done to ensure the supporters of the two finalist teams could attend.

“UEFA discussed moving the match to England but, despite exhaustive efforts on the part of the Football Association and the authorities, it was not possible to achieve the necessary exemptions from UK quarantine arrangements.

Istanbul was the allotted venue for this year’s final but newly imposed travel restrictions to Istanbul has seen it been taken away, provided both the teams who have qualified are English teams. UEFA had decided to award the final to either Porto or Wembley but ultimately decided to hand Portugal the final.

Last week, the UK government announced that Turkey had been added to the red list for travel from the United Kingdom. This is due to a significant surge in COVID-19 cases. It will also not be reassessed until after the Champions League final.

That applies to elite sportspeople too, with no exemption for their bubble. The UK government would have had to grant special travel exemptions for players and club staff to get around the issue.

Portugal are on England’s green list in regard to travel allowances and UEFA have chosen the Estadio De Dragao of Porto which boasts of a 50,000 capacity to host the final.

Even the last year’s Champions League final was shifted to Benfica’s Estadio da Luz when the pandemic had a raging impact on the world.

Although there has been a change in venue the Champions League final would be played on the same date i.e. – 30th May 12.30 A.M IST.

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