Uefa reopens bidding for 2027 Champions League final

Uefa has reopened the bidding for stadiums to host the 2027 Champions League final, after the match was stripped from Milan.

The San Siro was to be the venue for the showcase final but, after Milan officials failed to assure Uefa that planned redevelopment work would not hamper the event, European football’s governing body opted to take it away from them.

AC Milan and Inter Milan are considering building a new stadium in the San Siro area.

The new host stadium for the 2027 final is expected to be announced in May or June 2025.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Uefa Executive Committee on Tuesday, where changes to the organisation’s solidarity funding was also agreed.

The ‘big five’ European leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga – agreed to have their solidarity payments capped at 10m euros (£8.3m) per season up to and including 2026-27.

This is an increase of 1.5m euros on the previous cycle, but there are now 308m euros (£256.3m) to be shared rather than 177.2m euros (£147.4m) in the previous cycle.

The funds are allocated to clubs not participating in European competitions.

“Such funds are meant to support competitive balance across Europe’s top division leagues, where some clubs benefit from additional revenue streams due to European competition participation,” Uefa explained.

At Tuesday’s meeting Uefa’s women’s football strategy for 2024 to 2030 was also agreed, though details of what it entails are yet to be released.