Istanbul to host UEFA's 2026 Europa, 2027 Conference League finals

UEFA executive committee member Servet Yardımcı announced that the finals of the 2026 UEFA Europa League and the 2027 UEFA Europa Conference League will be held in Istanbul.

The decision was made during a UEFA Executive Committee meeting held in Dublin, Ireland, which was also attended by Yardımcı.

For the 2026 UEFA Europa League final, the committee has selected the Tüpraş Stadium, the home ground of Beşiktaş, as the venue.

However, the stadium for the 2027 Conference League final will be announced at a later date.

This will be the second time that the Tüpraş Stadium will host a UEFA final.

In 2019, the stadium, known then as Vodafone Park, hosted the UEFA Super Cup final between two English teams, Liverpool and Chelsea.

UEFA has chosen Budapest to host the 2026 men's Champions League final, while the 2027 final for Milan remains undecided due to uncertainties surrounding the future of San Siro.

The Puskas Arena in Budapest and San Siro in Milan were the only contenders for the two upcoming finals.

The next Champions League final is set for June 1 at Wembley Stadium in London, with Bayern Munich's home ground hosting the event the following year.

The iconic San Siro, formally known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and owned by the city of Milan, has been under long-term threat of demolition. Its shared tenants AC Milan and Inter Milan have looked for new homes they can own.

UEFA put off a decision until a September meeting of its executive committee.

The 75,000-seat stadium could host the European Cup or Champions League final for the fifth time, one year after staging the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The 70,000-seat Puskás Arena opened five years ago and has been a go-to venue for UEFA, hosting a Europa League final last year and replacement games during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a big fan of soccer and billionaire banker Sandor Csanyi is a FIFA vice president representing UEFA.

UEFA's executive committee also sent the Women's Champions League final in 2026 to Oslo, Norway.