Football
Where Is The 2024/25 Europa League Final Being Played?
Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.
Get to know Cai Parry betterPublished01 Aug 2024
Atalanta overcame Bayer Leverkusen to lift the Europa League title for the first time in their history at the Aviva Stadium last season, and as the new campaign gets underway, we at SportsCasting are taking a look at where the 2024/25 final will be played.
Where Is The 2024/25 Europa League Final Being Played?
San Mamés – Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League final will be played at San Mamés in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, the home of eight-time La Liga champions Athletic Club. With a capacity of 53,331, San Mamés is the seventh-largest stadium in the whole of Spain and is the largest within the Basque Country.
This season will mark the 54th season of Europe’s second-tier club football tournament, previously known as the UEFA Cup, and it will be the first campaign played under the new Swiss-system format.
Last year, the final was contested between Serie A side Atalanta and Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in the Republic of Ireland, in which the Italian side came out on top with a 3-0 scoreline thanks to an Ademola Lookman hat-trick.
As for this season, all competitors are yet to have been finalised, with plenty of football still to play in the qualifying rounds. However, all of Roma, Manchester United, Porto, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lazio, Tottenham, Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiacos, Lyon, Athletic Club, Hoffenheim, and Nice have confirmed their positions in the league phase.
This year’s final will be the seventh Europa League/UEFA Cup final to be held in Spain, with Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville all previously hosting.
When Is The 2024/25 Europa League Final?
The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League final will be played on May 21st, 2025. Following the same trend as most major European cup finals in recent years, the match will kick-off at 8pm UK time.
2024/25 Europa League Schedule
Qualifying:
- First qualifying round: 11 & 18 July 2024
- Second qualifying round: 25 July & 1 August 2024
- Third qualifying round: 8 & 15 August 2024
- Play-off round: 22 & 29 August 2024
League Phase:
- Matchday 1: 25/26 September 2024
- Matchday 2: 3 October 2024
- Matchday 3: 24 October 2024
- Matchday 4: 7 November 2024
- Matchday 5: 28 November 2024
- Matchday 6: 12 December 2024
- Matchday 7: 23 January 2025
- Matchday 8: 30 January 2025
Knockout Stage:
- Knockout round play-offs: 13 & 20 February 2025
- Round of 16: 6 & 13 March 2025
- Quarter-finals: 10 & 17 April 2025
- Semi-finals: 1 & 8 May 2025
- Final: 21 May 2025
When Was The Last Europa League Final Held At San Mamés?
The newly built San Mamés has never hosted a Europa League/UEFA Cup final. However, the old San Mamés, demolished in 2013, played host to the second leg of the 1976/77 UEFA Cup final. This was when the final was played in a two-legged format, with each finalist hosting a leg each at their home ground.
Contested between Serie A giants Juventus and San Mamés occupants Athletic Club, the Italian outfit carried a one-goal lead into the second leg after Marco Tardelli’s goal ensured a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Comunale in Turin two weeks prior.
Juventus got off to a great start in the second meeting, doubling their aggregate lead after just seven minutes. Athletic refused to back down, though. The La Liga side responded with a goal just four minutes later, before Carlos Ruiz drew his side level on aggregate 78 minutes into the tie.
Unfortunately for Lehoiak, they were unable to find a third, which meant that Juve were crowned champions thanks to the away goals rule. It would be The Old Lady‘s first Europa League/UEFA Cup triumph before they went on to win another two in 1989/90 and 1992/93.
Spanish-Hosted Europa League/UEFA Cup Finals
- 1976/77: Athletic Bilbao (2) 2-1 (2) Juventus – San Mamés (Bilbao)
- 1984/85: Real Madrid (3) 0-1 (1) Videoton – Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid)
- 1985/86: Real Madrid (5) 5-1 (3) FC Koln – Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid)
- 1987/88: Espanyol (3) 3-0 (3) Bayer Leverkusen (2-3 on penalties) – Estadi de Sarrià (Barcelona)
- 2002/03: Porto 3-2 (A.E.T) Celtic – Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla (Seville)
- 2021/22: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Rangers (5-4 on penalties) – Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium (Seville)
- 2024/25: TBC vs TBC – San Mamés (Bilbao)