Wembley snubbed for 2029 Champions League final as Uefa names alternative host

Uefa has chosen Barcelona’s upgraded Nou Camp ahead of Wembley Stadium in London to host the 2029 Champions League final, the governing body announced on Tuesday. The decision gives Barcelona a major showcase one year before Spain co-hosts the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Morocco. Staging the World Cup final remains a choice between Real Madrid’s renovated Santiago Bernabéu and a new 115,000-capacity stadium in Casablanca. Uefa’s executive committee also confirmed the 2028 Champions League final will take place at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, the sole applicant, just three years after hosting the 2025 edition. The delayed reconstruction of the 105,000-capacity Nou Camp remains under way, with the top tier and roof currently unfinished. Barcelona last hosted the final in 1999, when Manchester United scored twice in stoppage time to beat Bayern Munich. The Nou Camp will host the 2029 final (Getty) Wembley has staged the event three times since — in 2011, 2013 and 2024 — and eight times overall since the European Cup began 71 years ago. This season’s final will take place at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium. The announcement that Wembley has missed out on the 2029 final comes on the same morning as confirmation that London has also failed with its bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships . London was competing with Nairobi, Munich and Rome for the hosting rights, with the Kenyan capital city getting the nod to become the first African city to stage the event. World Athletics president Seb Coe said “the interest in hosting our world championships has frankly never been higher” and praised “the quality, commitment and ambition demonstrated by all four... outstanding bids”. He said: “Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic. Nairobi has presented a compelling and an emotional bid. “This is a fast-growing, dynamic, modern metropolis that serves as the economic, cultural, and political hub of East Africa. “Kenya is one of the great athletics nations. The sport is woven into the fabric of the country, and athletes such as world gold medallists Faith Kipyegon, Vivian Cheruiyot, Eliud Kipchoge, Hellen Obiri and David Rudisha, as well as two-time Olympic champion Kip Keino, multiple world cross-country champion Paul Tergat and multiple world half marathon champion Tegla Loroupe, have shaped the history of our sport. “It was important that the World Athletics Championships should come to Africa when we had the right host, the right bid and the right circumstances. Nairobi has demonstrated emphatically that this is their moment to supercharge our sport, leaving a compelling legacy that inspires a continent.”