UEFA has already provided its stance after calls for the Europa League final venue to be changed.
On Thursday (May 8), both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur booked their place in the Europa League final, which is set to take place at Sam Mames, in Bilbao, Spain on May 21.
And given the fact that both teams are from England, some have called for the showpiece to be moved to a neutral venue in the UK, which would benefit match-going supporters both financially and logistically.
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San Mames, the home stadium of United’s semi-final opponents, Athletic Club, will host the final and has a capacity of 53,289.
UEFA has confirmed that each club will receive 15,000 tickets to distribute to supporters, with an additional 11,000 tickets set to be released in a general sale, with all remaining tickets offered to hospitality and sponsors.
Will Europa League final be moved?
Well, the likely answer to this question is no, if previous examples are anything to go by.
In 2019, Chelsea and Arsenal met in the Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan, a journey which takes the best part of six hours via plane, and that’s without considering other costs and problems.
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Of course, due to the increased demand for transport, airlines hiked up prices to the dismay of many fans who felt they were being priced out of supporting their teams.
Arsenal penned a letter to UEFA explaining how they were “bitterly disappointed by the fact that due to transport limitations, UEFA can only make a maximum of 6,000 tickets available to Arsenal for a stadium with a capacity of well over 60,000".
They also mentioned the logistical issues fans would face due to the “limited transport provision”.
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UEFA responded with a statement which explained how “UEFA has committed to appoint hosts only via a fair and transparent bidding process”, something usually held a couple of years in advance of the event .
The organisation went on to explain how an all-English final was “not very predictable” at the “time of appointment” and admitted that there was “little doubt that this has added significant difficulties to the event logistics” before going on to apologise.
Of course, it must be considered that this was six years ago, and the circumstances are different with Bilbao being significantly closer to England than Baku.
Has UEFA changed a final's venue before?
Yes, but due to unforeseen circumstances. The 2022 Champions League final, which ended Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool, was originally scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia.
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However, the event was relocated and took place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, France, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
What has UEFA said about the Europa League final venue being changed?
European football's governing body haven't official commented on the all-English final between United and Spurs but its website stipulates that "If the UEFA administration receives any such notification, or has any reason itself to believe that a match may not be able to be played as scheduled, it decides if any change will be made to the stadium, venue, date and/or kick-off time. Such a decision by the UEFA administration is final".
But the issues associated with the all-Premier League final are unlikely to fall within the criteria as the venue is more than fit to host the game as the problems relate to demand for tickets and transport.
Topics: Europa League, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, UEFA, Football
Luke Davies