The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsThe Millennium Stadium in Cardiff will host the 2017 Champions League Final, it has been confirmed. The final will be played on Saturday 3rd June.
The Stadium has already hosted a number of major sporting events, including the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final just months after the stadium was opened.
Whilst Wembley Stadium was under construction from the new Millennium, the 74,500 capacity Stadium in Cardiff hosted the FA Cup final, League Cup Final, Community Shield and Football League play-offs from 2001 to 2006, in addition to the 2012 Olympic football games.
With the Rugby World Cup just around the corner, the stadium will also play host to eight of the upcoming competition’s.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) led the bid to host one of Uefa’s major finals with support from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), which owns Millennium Stadium.
Football Association of Wales chief executive Jonathan Ford welcomed the announcement by European football’s governing body.
“We believe that staging both the 2017 Uefa Champions League final and 2017 Uefa Women’s Champions League final will have a positive and long-lasting effect on Welsh football,” said Ford.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of two years’ of hard work and I’d like to thank all those who’ve helped the FAW fulfil its ambition.”
Cardiff born Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has already commented on the announcement, saying that “It would be fantastic to be involved in front of a packed crowd at such an iconic stadium in 2017.”
Bale, who obviously plays at the venue for Wales, also appeared when the Millennium Stadium hosted the 2014 Super Cup, in which Bale’s Madrid beat Sevilla.
