Aviva Stadium to host 2023 Champions Cup final

The finals of the 2022-23 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup rugby union tournaments will now be held at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, and not Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as initially planned.

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) made the announcement yesterday (Thursday), with the decision having been taken due to the 2022-23 Premier League football season finishing later than usual because of the Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

The impact of the 2023 Rugby World Cup on the EPCR calendar was also cited as a reason for the venue change. The decision to move the matches to Aviva Stadium means that Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s long wait to host the fixtures goes on.

The venue had initially been due to stage the 2021 finals but saw its rights pushed back to 2022 after the 2020 games at Marseille’s Orange Vélodrome were shifted to 2021 because of the pandemic.

The Vélodrome was then unable to host in 2021 due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in France at the time. As a result, the French stadium will host the 2022 matches later this month and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium had been due to stage the 2023 finals.

EPCR has now opted to switch next year’s finals to Aviva Stadium but chairman Dominic McKay said the governing body was “very happy” to continue working with Tottenham to stage future editions of the finals at the London stadium.