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Here’s why the Champions League final is being moved to Portugal

By Clemente Lisi

Chelsea's German striker Timo Werner (2nd L) vies with Manchester City's French defender Aymeric Laporte (L) and Manchester City's Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo (2nd R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on May 8, 2021. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Shaun Botterill / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by SHAUN BOTTERILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's German striker Timo Werner (2nd L) vies with Manchester City's French defender Aymeric Laporte (L) and Manchester City's Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo (2nd R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on May 8, 2021. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Shaun Botterill / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by SHAUN BOTTERILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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The pandemic continues to wreak havoc on European soccer, forcing UEFA to move the game to Portugal and accommodate Chelsea and Manchester City fans.

The all-English UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea will be held at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, officials announced Thursday, and will feature 12,000 fans.

The May 29 game was moved from Istanbul to the 50,000-capacity Portuguese venue after England imposed tougher pandemic travel restrictions on Turkey. The move would have prevented Manchester City and Chelsea fans from flying to the match.

UEFA had preliminary plans to hold the game at Wembley Stadium in London, but the Associated Press reported that those talks fell apart over the ability to secure quarantine waivers for the guests and broadcasters to attend the game.

12,000 fans will allowed to the Champions League final

“I think we can all agree that we hope never to experience a year like the one we have just endured,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement on UEFA’s official website. “Fans have had to suffer more than 12 months without the ability to see their teams live and reaching a Champions League final is the pinnacle of club football.”

Stadium capacity for the final will be limited to 12,000 with 6,000 tickets allotted for fans of each club.

“To deprive those supporters of the chance to see the match in person was not an option,” Ceferin added, “and I am delighted that this compromise has been found.”

The 2020 final won by Bayern Munich, which was also moved from Istanbul to Portugal, was played without fans in Lisbon.

Europe has been hit hard by the pandemic, forcing travel restrictions over the past year and not allowing Champions League matches to feature fans.

“I hope the final will be a symbol of hope at the re-emergence of Europe from a difficult period and that the fans who travel to the game will once again be able to lend their voices to showcase this final as the best in club football,” Ceferin added.

The Estadio do Dragao, built in 2003, is the home ground for FC Porto. It has hosted some big games over the years, including the 2019 UEFA Nations League final won by Portugal.

The game between Manchester City and Chelsea is the third all-England final in Champions League history. Chelsea lifted the trophy once in 2012, while Man City will be looking to win their first European title.

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