More Champions League matches in Budapest!
The Puskás Aréna will welcome several Hungarian international footballers when it provides the venue for the men's UEFA Champions League round-of-16 fixture between RB Leipzig and six-time competition winners Liverpool on 16th February. One week later, Borussia Moenchengladbach will use the stadium to host Manchester City in the same competition.
RB Leipzig, whose squad features three Hungarian internationals in Péter Gulácsi, Willi Orban and Dominik Szoboszlai, are not able to play their home Champions League fixture on 16th February in their own stadium due to German government restrictions on visitors from foreign countries such as the United Kingdom, so instead, they will host English club Liverpool in the Puskás Aréna at 21:00 CET on the same original date. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tie will be played without spectators present and German club Leipzig will be designated the home team, having selected the Budapest venue at UEFA's suggestion. The same situation has developed for another German club, Borussia Moenchagladbach, who have also now adopted the Puskás Aréna as their home for their Champions League clash against another English club, Manchester City, at 21:00 on Wednesday 24th February.
Hungary is delighted to give a home to any prestigious football event. Thanks to significant developments in infrastructure over the past decade, there are now the appropriate facilities in which it is now possible to host high-quality sports events.
In the recent past, major football matches successfully organised in Hungary include the Women's Champions League final and the men's UEFA Super Cup final, the latter of which became the first UEFA fixture to be played in front of fans following the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Last summer, Hungary was used as a neutral venue for competitive European matches and later in the year Ferencváros welcomed Juventus and Barcelona in Budapest in the Champions League group stage. European football's governing body, the participating teams and supporters were fully satisfied with the organisation and hosting of the events, which also served as opportunities to test the goalline technology and video assistant refereeing system.
This summer, Hungary will be joint-hosts of the men's European Championships, EURO 2020, as well as the Under-21 European Championship this year, while further in the future, Budapest will also be the venue for the 2023 Europa League final.