Lyon beats Bilbao to host the 2028 Women's Champions League final

Bilbao will not host the 2028 Women's Champions League final; **UEFA** has chosen **Lyon** instead.

## Lyon, the chosen city

**UEFA** has decided that the **2028 Women's Champions League final** will be held in **Lyon**, France. The Basque capital, **Bilbao**, had put forward its candidacy with the **San Mamés** stadium as the venue, but the French city ultimately won the honour. Alongside Bilbao, **Basel** (Switzerland) and **Istanbul** (Turkey) had also bid to host the event. Lyon's selection for this major sporting event underlines the importance of European cities in staging competitions of great significance.

## San Mamés and its track record

The **San Mamés** stadium has already proven its ability to host top-level finals. In **2024**, it was the venue for the Women's Champions League final, where **Barcelona** lifted the trophy after beating **Olympique Lyonnais**. That match set an attendance record with **50,827** spectators, surpassing the previous mark set by the **2012** final in Munich. San Mamés' prior experience in hosting events of this magnitude counted in its favour, although it was not enough on this occasion.

## The impact of major events

Choosing a city to host a Champions League final goes beyond sport. These events have become global occasions with a considerable economic and tourism-promotion impact. They place the host city at the centre of international media attention and attract thousands of visitors. **Bilbao** has shown a growing interest in organising this kind of major event, as it demonstrated with the start of the **2023 Tour de France**. The city has also hosted the **2025 Europa League final** and rugby finals, showing its ambition within the circuit of major sporting events.