UEFA in talks to move Champions League match to the United States from 2033 - Reports

There is reportedly a chance of a Champions League final being played in the United States. It was recently revealed that UEFA and European Club Association joint venture UC3 have entered negotiations with New York-based agent Relevent Sport over global commercial rights to Europe's men's club competitions in North America from 2027 to 2033.

Since the inception of the Champions League, the final in every campaign has always been played in Europe, with England’s hallowed turf Wembley hosting a record number of eight finals in total.

The current 2024-25 Champions League campaign, which debuted the new Swiss format, will see the final played at Allianz Arena on May 31, 2025.

Relevent Sport has reportedly been keen to bringing major games to the United States. According to The Independent, should UEFA and ECA reach an agreement with the American agency Relevent Sports, it will mark the end of UEFA's over 30-year partnership with Swiss-based agency TEAM Marketing. This could consequently result in Champions League finals being played in the United States.

UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) released a statement on Monday, February 11. The statement read:

"The Board of UC3, the joint venture between UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) has agreed to enter into an exclusive period of negotiation with Relevent Sports over the global commercial rights to the UEFA men's club competitions for the period 2027-2033."

"The decision follows an open tender process, launched last summer, which attracted bids from a number of global and regional agencies. UC3 anticipates concluding the process in the coming weeks and shall not be making any further comment in the meantime."

The potential shift by UEFA and ECA of their competition’s global rights could, however, result in the loss of 170 jobs at TEAM Marketing, who are said to be in a ‘state of shock and anger’ about the news.

Relevent Sports was founded in 2012 and is controlled by billionaire and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

When UEFA president Aleksander Caferin said Champions League fixtures in the United States is ''possible''

The idea of hosting UEFA Champions League matches in the United States has been a longstanding topic of discussion. In 2023, UEFA President Aleksander Caferin stated that UCL fixtures could be staged in the U.S. within the next two decades.

Speaking to Men in Blazers podcast (via The Athletic), Caferin said:

“It’s possible. We started to discuss about that, but then one year it is the World Cup, 2024 is Euro, this year [the Champions League final] is Istanbul, ’24 in London, ’25 in Munich. And after that let’s see. It’s possible, it’s possible.”

Caferin pointed to the growing interest in football in the United States and stated that America was a market UEFA was open to exploring further.