UEFA: Istanbul will host 2023 Champions League final

UEFA has announced the 2023 Champions League final will be played in Istanbul, after the past two editions were relocated from the Turkish city to Portugal due to Covid-19 issues.

The 2020 competition was disrupted heavily by the pandemic, and concluded with a 'Final Eight' tournament in Lisbon after it was forced to move away from Istanbul.

Last season's final between Chelsea and Manchester City was again due to be held at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, but the UK government's decision to put Turkey on its travel red list prompted UEFA to move it to Porto.

Saint Petersburg, initially scheduled to host the 2021 showpiece, will instead stage next year's final while Wembley will be the venue for the 2024 final, UEFA announced on Friday.

Munich, which was due to stage the 2023 final, will now host the 2025 edition.

Bilbao and Dublin, who were unable to stage matches at this year's European Championship, agreed a settlement with the UEFA executive committee and will host the Europa League final in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Bilbao will also host the women's Champions League final in 2024.

READ MORE: Champions League final moved from Istanbul to Porto

"We were all disappointed when the Covid-19 pandemic saw the four UEFA EURO 2020 games moved away from Dublin so this really is something to look forward to just three years from now," Football Association of Ireland chief executive Jonathan Hill said in a statement.

The Turkish Football Federation said on its website: "The selection of Turkey as the host of an outstanding start-of-season event such as the UEFA premiere reinforced the confidence in our country in organizing international events."