Wembley handed 2013 Champions League final to celebrate 150 years of the FA

June 18, 2011 - 0:0

The Football Association were celebrating last night after securing the Champions League final for the second time in three seasons.

As Sportsmail revealed, Wembley has been chosen to host the most prestigious fixture in club football in 2013 after it proved such a resounding success for UEFA last month. The match will coincide with the FA's 150th anniversary.
The European governing body made the announcement at a press conference yesterday after a meeting between members of their executive committee. UEFA did not just see Wembley as a massive commercial success but as an operational one, too, praising FA staff for what they considered to be the best final in almost 20 years of the Champions League.
FA chairman David Bernstein said: 'We're absolutely delighted. It's very unusual for a final to be held in the same place twice in three years, but the Champions League final was an outstanding success.
'UEFA were delighted with the result and we were delighted. Wembley came of age that weekend, from being a stadium that was great but perceived as a bit of a problem to something that is now looked at as a national asset.
'Holding the Champions League final and then converting it for the Championship play-off less than two days later was a tremendous achievement by a great team of people. It was certainly positive financially.
'The 2013 final will be a major celebration of football in this country during a landmark year for our organisation and is an acknowledgment of Wembley's status as one of the very best football stadiums in the world.'
It will be Wembley's seventh European Cup final, after 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1992 and this year. It will also be the first time one stadium has staged the showpiece tie twice in three seasons.
UEFA president Michel Platini pointed to the 'exceptional circumstances' of the FA's 150th anniversary. 'There are always many candidates for the Champions League final but this is to mark the special year of the English FA,' he said.
Before this year's final, Platini apologised for the high cost of tickets and said UEFA would consider introducing a cheaper tariff for families at future finals.
(Source: DailyMail)