Europa League final 2024: Date, venue… all you need to know
The Europa League final for the 2023-2024 season is scheduled to take place on May 22, 2024, at 20:00PM (WAT)
Who will play who?
Atalanta won the semi-final match against Marseille 4-1 on aggregate to set up their first-ever European final with Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen, who are unbeaten this season having defeated Roma 4-2 on aggregate in their final-four match.
With 51 games played without a loss in all competitions this season, Xabi Alonso‘s team won the Bundesliga in spectacular manner, finishing 17 points ahead of Stuttgart in second place. They are about to make history with an ‘Invincible treble’; the only hurdles to are this European league final in Dublin and the German Cup final three days later against second-tier Kaiserslautern.
After eliminating Liverpool early in the knockout stages, Atalanta defeated Marseille in the semi-finals to progress to their first-ever European final. The Serie A team had the opportunity to break their trophy drought since 1963 this season in the Coppa Italia final last week but they lost 0-1 to Juventus on 15th May.
Venue for the 2023-24 Europa League final
Dublin Arena, which can hold more than 50,000 people and home to national football team of the Republic of Ireland will host the final. The stadium, was opened in 2010 and this will be the second Europa League final to be hosted there. In 2011, it hosted the all-Portuguese final between Porto and Braga.
More on football:
Four EPL title in a row: Inside Manchester City’s historic journey
Victor Boniface: From barrack boy to Bundesliga rookie of the season and champion
Revealed: How Alonso’s Leverkusen ended Bayern’s dynasty
How will the winner be decided?
The structure of the Europa League final is similar to that of the UEFA Champions League final. Two sessions of 15 minutes each of extra time are played if the score is tied at the end of regular time. A team is considered the winner if, during extra time, that team scores more goals than the other. A penalty shootout will be used to decide the winner if the score is tied after extra time.
Who will referee the 2023-24 Europa League final?
István Kovács from Romania will be at the center in the final. His assistants will be Vasile Florin Marinescu and Mihai Ovidiu Artene.
What do the Europa League winners get?
The UEFA Europa League trophy at 15kg is the first reward for the winners. And if they haven’t already qualified via their home league performance, they also receive a spot in the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League group stage.
The winners of the Europa League final will also be eligible to compete in the 2024 UEFA Super Cup against the winners of the 2023–2024 UEFA Champions League.
Read also: Four EPL title in a row: Inside Manchester City’s historic journey
