Champions League final could be staged in United States in future, says UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin

The Champions League final could be held in the United States at some point in the future, said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on Men in Blazers podcast, reported Reuters on Tuesday, 25 April.

Ceferin said that European football’s most prestigious competition could be held in the US to capitalise on the sport’s rising popularity in the country.

The UEFA Champions League, the most sought after title in European football, has never had its summit clash played outside of the continent since its inception in 1955.

“It’s possible. We started to discuss about that but then one year it was the World Cup, (20)24 is Euros, this year (the final) is in Istanbul, ’24 is in London and ’25 is in Munich and after that, let’s see,” Ceferin told the Men in Blazers podcast.

“Football is extremely popular in the United States these days… Americans are ready to pay for best and nothing for the less. So they will follow European football as basketball lovers in Europe follow the NBA.

“What shocked me (about the American audience) was that the European Championship finals was watched by more people in the United States than the NBA Finals… For 30 matches of the Euros, the viewership was like Super Bowl viewership.”

This year’s Super Bowl attracted an average of 113 million viewers on U.S. television and digital platforms.

However, Ceferin said the time difference was a problem, especially if they played in the afternoon on the Pacific coast which would see matches kick off around midnight in Europe.

The United States will co-host the 2026 World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.

Ceferin, a Slovenian lawyer who has been UEFA president since 2016, was re-elected unopposed during their Ordinary Congress in Lisbon earlier this month and will serve a four-year term until 2027.