Russia-Ukraine Heats Up, UEFA Plans To Move Champions League Final To Wembley Stadium

Illustration of the Champions League (Twitter.com/@ChampionsLeague)

JAKARTA - The heated political situation between Russia and Ukraine recently has also had an impact on the world of football, especially the 2021/2022 Champions League season.

The Champions League final this season will actually be held at the Gazprom Arena, Russia on 29 May. However, the plan is likely to fail due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Reporting from the Daily Star, Tuesday, this situation forced UEFA as the organizer of the Champions League to make a quick decision to find an alternative location for holding the final.

Later rumors circulated that the headquarters of the English national team, Wembley Stadium in London, was the main target appointed to hold the Champions League final. If that really happens, then this will be very profitable for the city of London.

This is because the city where the Champions League final will be held will receive quite a lot of additional finance. Considering the Champions League final is worth more than 60 thousand euros or equivalent to IDR 1.1 billion.

Regarding tensions between Russia and Ukraine, in recent times President Vladimir Putin has made several threats for Russia to invade Ukraine.

On the other hand, Putin also asked his troops to immediately enter Ukraine on a mission to maintain peace. This happened after the president realized that Ukraine was an independent land.

The existence of a planned movement of Russian troops made fears of an invasion that could occur in the Ukrainian capital, namely Kiev.

Regardless of the situation in Russia and Ukraine, if the Champions League final were to be played at Wembley Stadium it would be the second time the final has been moved.

Remembering something similar had happened right last season. Where the Champions League final which was supposed to be held in Istanbul actually shifted to Porto in just three weeks before kick-off.

This was forced to be done after the Turkish capital was included in the COVID-19 red list which made the entire agenda that involved many people had to be stopped in order to suppress transmission.