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2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final
The 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final was the final match of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, the third season of Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was held at the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, Greece, on 29 May 2024,[5][6] between Greek club Olympiacos and Italian club Fiorentina. Olympiacos won the match 1–0 after extra time courtesy of a header by Ayoub El Kaabi[7] for their first European title, also becoming the first Greek club to win a European trophy.[8] As winners, they qualified for the league phase of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League. Meanwhile, Fiorentina lost their second consecutive final, becoming the first team to lose European finals in consecutive seasons since Benfica in the 2013 and 2014 Europa League finals. BackgroundThis was Olympiacos' first European final and only the second to feature a Greek team, the other coming in the 1971 European Cup final which Panathinaikos lost to Ajax. Five weeks prior to this final, Olympiacos' under-19 team had won the 2023–24 UEFA Youth League, the first UEFA competition win for a Greek club at any level. Fiorentina became the first club to play in two UEFA Europa Conference League finals and the first to contest them consecutively.[9] Fiorentina were looking to win their first major trophy since winning the 2000–01 Coppa Italia, and their first European title since winning the 1960–61 European Cup Winners' Cup. Both managers were seeking their first Europa Conference League title, with Olympiacos' José Luis Mendilibar the more experienced in winning a European trophy, having won the previous year's Europa League final with Sevilla. With a win, Mendilibar would become the first manager to win two different major European trophies in consecutive seasons since fellow Spaniard Rafael Benítez won the 2003–04 UEFA Cup with Valencia and the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League with Liverpool and the sixth manager ever to achieve that.[note 1] Previous finals
VenueThe Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, known as the OPAP Arena for sponsorship reasons, was home of AEK Athens, one of Olympiacos' local rivals. The stadium opened in September 2022,[10] and had a capacity of 31,100.[11] The match was the eighth single-leg UEFA club final to be played in Greece, having hosted three European Cup/Champions League finals (in 1983, 1994 and 2007), three Cup Winners' Cup finals (in 1971, 1973 and 1987) and the 2023 UEFA Super Cup. Host selectionOn 21 June 2022, UEFA opened the bidding process for the final, which was held in parallel with that of the 2025 final. Interested bidders could bid for either one or both of the finals. The proposed venues had to include natural grass and be ranked as a UEFA category four stadium, with a gross capacity of between 30,000 and 50,000 preferred. The bidding timeline was as follows:[5]
The UEFA Executive Committee appointed the Agia Sophia Stadium as the host during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 28 June 2023. As the stadium is new and has never been operated by the club for international competitions, the venue is subject to an observation period until November 2023 for matches played in UEFA club competitions and UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. Should the venue meet the requirements, the appointment will be officially confirmed in December 2023.[12] Route to the finalNote: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
Pre-matchIdentityThe original identity of the 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 1 September 2023.[13] TicketingThe stadium has a capacity of 32,500, and 27,100 were made available of which 21,000 were on sale to the general public. Each club in the final received an allocation of 9,000 tickets each.[14] MatchSummaryAfter a goalless ninety minutes, the match went into extra-time. In the 116th minute Olympiacos went in front when Ayoub El Kaabi got the only goal of the match when he stooped low to head the ball into the left corner of the net after a cross from the left by Santiago Hezze.[15] After a lengthy VAR check the goal was eventually awarded and Olympiacos went on to win their first European trophy.[16] DetailsThe "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.
Statistics
Post-matchAfter the match Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a post on social media platform X, describing Olympiacos as "a true legend". This win caused a big celebration with several thousand Olympiacos fans gathered in Piraeus, Greece.[19] Notes
See also
References
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