The Football Association of Ireland has submitted a preliminary bid to host the 2029 UEFA Women's Champions League final at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. This follows an expression of interest lodged with UEFA in October, with the association highlighting the growing popularity of women's football in the country. Final bids are due in June, with UEFA expected to announce the host in September.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has formally submitted a preliminary bid dossier to UEFA for hosting the 2029 Women's Champions League final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. This step comes after the FAI expressed initial interest in October, marking a three-month exploratory process involving consultations with key stakeholders including the Aviva Stadium management, Dublin City Council, and the Irish government's Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
The FAI emphasized its strong position to stage the event, citing the surge in popularity of women's and girls' football in the Republic of Ireland. The country qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia, and national captain Katie McCabe has been pivotal in Arsenal's recent triumphs, including a 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League final in Lisbon last May, securing the European and world titles within the past year.
The Aviva Stadium has a proven track record of hosting major UEFA events, having staged the men's Europa League finals in 2011 and 2024, and it is slated to host matches at the Euro 2028 finals. Other potential hosts for the 2029 decider include the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, while Lyon's Parc Olympique Lyonnais and Basel's St. Jakob-Park have expressed interest for either 2028 or 2029.
This season's Women's Champions League final will take place at Oslo's Ullevaal Stadion, with the 2026-27 edition set for Warsaw, Poland. The FAI plans to collaborate further with partners ahead of the final bid submission in early June.