This is the first European Cup final to be staged in Hungary and it comes at an interesting time for the Central European country, a few weeks after right-wing populist leader Viktor Orbán‘s heavy defeat in the Hungarian elections.
Péter Magyar is the current prime minister and is set to attend the match at the 67,000-seat Puskas Arena, a stadium that opened in 2019 and was built on the same site as the previous Ferenc Puskas Stadion — named after the Hungarian and Real Madrid great who won three European Cups as a player.
A partial view of the stadium prior to the start of the Euro 2020 soccer championship group F match between Hungary and Portugal at the Ferenc Puskas stadium in Budapest, Hungary Monday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, Pool)
A partial view of the stadium prior to the start of the Euro 2020 soccer championship group F match between Hungary and Portugal at the Ferenc Puskas stadium in Budapest, Hungary Monday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, Pool)
Add AP News on Google
Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
Share
Read More
Orbán is a massive soccer fan – indeed, he played semi-pro – and has attempted to bring the glory days of the 1950s, when Hungary had one of the world’s top teams, back to the nation.
To that end, the arena, located a few kilometers east of central Budapest, has become a well-known host for European soccer games — especially during the coronavirus pandemic when much of Europe was under tight restrictions and Hungary relaxed them after conducting one of the continent’s widest and earliest COVID-19 vaccination drives. In that time, the stadium staged the UEFA Super Cup in 2020, as well as a slew of Champions League group games for four European Championship matches in 2021. In 2023, it hosted the Europa League final won by Sevilla.