{"id":12282,"date":"2026-05-06T21:42:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/12282\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T21:42:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:42:28","slug":"2026-uefa-champions-league-final-where-is-it-who-is-involved-how-to-watch-uefa-champions-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/12282\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 UEFA Champions League final: Where is it, who is involved, how to watch | UEFA Champions League"},"content":{"rendered":"

History will be made when the 2025\/26 UEFA Champions League<\/a> season concludes with the final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary.<\/p>\n

Budapest event guide<\/p>\n

Who is in the 2026 Champions League final?<\/p>\n

Paris Saint-Germain will face Arsenal in the 2026 Champions League final. Holders Paris are bidding to become only the second club in the Champions League era to successfully defend their title after Real Madrid, who won three in a row between 2016 and 2018. The Gunners, runners-up in 2006, are seeking to become the 25th club to lift the trophy and the second new winners in succession after Paris’ 2025 triumph.<\/p>\n

Where is the 2026 Champions League final?<\/p>\n

The most prestigious club competition in world football, the UEFA Champions League will host its 2025\/26 final at the Pusk\u00e1s Ar\u00e9na.<\/p>\n

After hosting the UEFA Europa League final in 2023, the pinnacle of European football’s club calendar arrives in Hungary and its capital for the first time. <\/p>\n

When is the 2026 Champions League final?<\/p>\n

The 2026 Champions League final is scheduled for Saturday 30 May 2026, marking the conclusion of the 71st season of Europe’s elite club competition and the 34th since it was renamed the UEFA Champions League. <\/p>\n

What time does the 2026 Champions League final kick off?<\/p>\n

The 2026 Champions League final kicks off at 18:00 CET. This is earlier than in previous years, designed to enhance the overall matchday experience for fans, teams and host cities by optimising matchday logistics and operations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How to watch the Champions League final<\/p>\n

Details of where to watch the Champions League final will be available here in due course.<\/p>\n

Will there be extra time and penalties in the Champions League final?<\/p>\n

If scores are level at the end of normal time, two 15-minute periods of extra time are played. If one of the teams scores more goals than the other during extra time, that team are declared the winners. If scores remain level after extra time, the winners are determined by a penalty shoot-out.<\/p>\n

Great Champions League final goalsWho will be performing before the Champions League final?<\/p>\n

The Killers will headline the 2026 UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show presented by Pepsi\u00ae<\/a>. To launch this year’s show, The Killers appear alongside Sir David Beckham in a new short film titled The Race Begins. The cinematic storyline follows lead singer Brandon Flowers and Beckham in a playful, high-stakes race to reach the most highly-anticipated match of the season and can be viewed\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

History of the Pusk\u00e1s Ar\u00e9naThe Pusk\u00e1s Ar\u00e9na officially opened as the new national stadium of Hungary on 15 November 2019. It was built on the site of the old Ferenc Pusk\u00e1s Stadion, which was demolished in 2017, and retains the brick walls of its predecessor in the main entrance. \u201cThe construction of the new Pusk\u00e1s Ar\u00e9na stadium puts together the architectural values of the old stadium along with the implementation of the most modern techniques,\u201d said Codina Architectural, the firm who designed and built its striking metal exterior. UEFA president Aleksander \u010ceferin described the 67,000 seater as the “the jewel in Hungarian football’s crown” and praised the commitment of the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) to building new stadia. Like its predecessor, the Pusk\u00e1s Ar\u00e9na bears the name of legendary Hungarian forward Ferenc Pusk\u00e1s, a three-time European Cup winner with Real Madrid.Sevilla claimed a record seventh UEFA Europa League title at the Pusk\u00e1s Ar\u00e9na as they defeated Roma on penalties in May 2023, but the 2026 Champions League final will be the first time that Hungary has hosted the final of Europe’s premier club competition. <\/p>\n

2023 final highlights: Sevilla 1-1 Roma (4-1 pens)The stadium also hosted four games at UEFA EURO 2020, including Hungary’s 1-1 draw with World Cup holders France in Group F, and the 2020 UEFA Super Cup meeting between Bayern M\u00fcnchen and Sevilla which the German side won 2-1. Located just east of central Budapest, the stadium is only a kilometre from Budapest Keleti central railway station and two kilometres from the historic centre of the Hungarian capital.The arena opened with a friendly match between Hungary and Uruguay, which the visitors won 2-1. Former captain and current assistant coach \u00c1d\u00e1m Szalai became the first Hungarian player to score at the new stadium, clawing one back after Edinson Cavani and Brian Rodr\u00edguez gave Uruguay a two-goal lead. Construction, which took place between 2017 and 2019, involved the production and installation of approximately 20,000 square meters of stainless steel wire mesh. Architect and project designer Gy\u00f6rgy Skardelli wanted to incorporate modern features and techniques while also preserving the distinctive character of the original building.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The exterior of the Pusk\u00e1s Ar\u00e9naAFP via Getty ImagesWhat do the Champions League winners get?<\/p>\n

The UEFA Champions League trophy<\/a> stands 73.5cm tall and weighs 7.5kg. “Everybody in football is keen to get their hands on it,” said creator J\u00fcrg Stadelmann.<\/p>\n

The winners will also earn the right to play against the winners of the 2025\/26 UEFA Europa League in the 2026 UEFA Super Cup.<\/p>\n

They will also gain an automatic place in the league phase of the 2026\/27 Champions League, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.<\/p>\n

The magic of the UEFA Champions League trophyWhere will the other 2026 finals be held?<\/p>\n

2026 Europa League final<\/a>: Be\u015fikta\u015f Park, Istanbul
2026 Conference League final<\/a>: RB Arena, Leipzig
2026 Women’s Champions League final<\/a>: \ufeffUllevaal Stadion, Oslo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"History will be made when the 2025\/26 UEFA Champions League season concludes with the final between Paris Saint-Germain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[30],"class_list":{"0":"post-12282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-paris","8":"tag-paris"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}