Aviva Stadium to hosts 2023 Euro Finals

By Mark Jones
19/5/22

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) today announced that Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will host the 2023 Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Finals.

The two showpiece matches, representing the pinnacle of elite European club rugby, will take place in the Irish capital on Friday 19 May and Saturday 20 May 2023.

International brewing giant Heineken will continue as title sponsors of the Heineken Champions Cup, marking an extension of a long-standing association with Europe’s elite club competition which features the leading lights of the Gallagher Premiership in England, France’s TOP 14 and the United Rugby Championship which has representatives from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa.

Heineken’s close connection with the tournament spans nearly 30 years since rugby embraced professionalism in 1995 and the Heineken Champions Cup Final has been staged three times previously at the Aviva Stadium, formerly Lansdowne Road.

The 2023 Finals, which will also be supported by EPCR’s Official Logistics Partner DHL and newly-announced Official Hotels Partner IHG Hotels & Resorts, return to Dublin after a decade when RC Toulon defeated ASM Clermont Auvergne to lift the famous silverware for the first time in 2013.

Ticket sales for Dublin 2023 open with a priority window from tomorrow (Friday, 20 May) enabling fans to secure their places and to plan their weekend well in advance.

Fans can register for the priority window by signing up to *EPCR’s newsletter and they will then have access to a limited number of Golden Tickets – the best tickets at the best prices from tomorrow (Friday 20 May) until Friday week (27 May).

To date, six countries – England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Spain and Wales – have staged European club finals, and next week the spotlight moves to the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille with big attendances expected for what promises to be a thrilling weekend of high-class rugby.

Dominic McKay, EPCR Chairman, said: "Following extensive discussions with all stakeholders, including the Aviva Stadium, Dublin City Council and the IRFU, we are delighted to be bringing the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Finals back to Dublin next May. The ground has a strong association with EPCR, having staged three finals over the years, and we are very much looking forward to returning to Dublin."

The 2023 Finals were originally scheduled to be staged at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however, with the Premier League concluding later than usual due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in November and December, coupled with the impact of Rugby World Cup 2023 on the EPCR calendar, it was decided to select the Aviva Stadium as next season’s host venue.

McKay added: "We are very happy to continue working with Tottenham Hotspur to stage our Finals there soon. It is a sensational stadium with a burgeoning history of hosting rugby matches. In the meantime, it is exciting to be returning to a rugby heartland at the Aviva Stadium, and we look forward to welcoming fans, clubs, players and stakeholders to what promises to be an outstanding weekend in May next year."