The final of this season's Uefa Champions League in Budapest will kick off at 6pm local time rather than 9pm to “enhance the match day experience”, it was announced on Thursday.
The 2026 final will be played at the Puskas Arena on Saturday, May 30, with the new kick-off time meaning an 8pm start for UAE viewers.
“An earlier kick-off makes day trips more feasible, reduces travel stress, and allows fans to enjoy the occasion without worrying about late night logistics,” said Ronan Evain, executive director for Football Supporters Europe, which worked on the subject with Uefa.
Unlike the Europa League and Conference League finals, which are played in midweek, the Champions League showpiece has been held on Saturdays since 2010.
“While a 21:00 CET kick-off is well suited for midweek matches, an earlier kick-off on a Saturday for the final means an earlier finish – regardless of extra time or penalties,” said Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin.
Paris Saint-Germain won their maiden European Cup in last season's final, beating Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich.
Their path towards defending their crown will be laid out on Thursday night when the draw for the 36-team league phase of Europe's elite club competition takes place in Monaco.
The group stage in place for over two decades was consigned to history last season and replaced by a 36-team competition in which every club was pooled together into one giant league and played eight games against eight different opponents.
PSG, as it turns out, finished an unremarkable 15th in the league phase but then won on penalties in the last 16 against Liverpool, who had come first.
Luis Enrique's side did not look back after that as they became just the second French winners ever of the trophy, following Marseille in 1993.
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Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos lifts the trophy after their 5-0 Uefa Champions League final win over Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31, 2025. EPA -
PSG manager Luis Enrique celebrates with the trophy after their stunning win over Inter Milan. AP -
PSG goalscorers Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi with the trophy. PA -
PSG celebrate after the French club became European champions for the first time in their history. EPA -
Desire Doue scores Paris Saint-Germain's third goal. Getty Images -
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates after scoring PSG's fourth goal in Munich. AP -
Substitute Senny Mayulu scores PSG's fifth goal in the 86th minute. Getty Images -
Desire Doue celebrates scoring his second and PSG's third goal against Inter Milan in Munich. Getty Images -
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia slots home PSG's fourth goal in the 73rd minute. Reuters -
PSG's Desire Doue after scoring his team's second goal in Munich. EPA -
Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer is wrong-footed by Desire Doue's deflected shot that put PSG two up in Munich. Reuters -
PSG manager Luis Enrique, left, celebrates after Desire Doue put his team 2-0 ahead. Getty Images -
Desire Doue celebrates after scoring his PSG's second goal at the Allianz Arena. AP -
PSG fans set off flares in the stands during the Champions League final. PA -
Desire Doue scores PSG's second goal - via a deflection off Federico Dimarco (not in picture) - in the 20th minute. AP -
Inter manager Simone Inzaghi during the final. EPA -
Achraf Hakimi scores finishes past Inter Milan keeper Yann Sommer. Reuters -
Achraf Hakimi celebrates with teammate Ousmane Dembele after putting PSG 1-0 up in the 12th minute. Getty Images -
Achraf Hakimi side foots past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer to put PSG into an early lead. Getty Images -
PSG full-back Achraf Hakimi refuses to celebrate in front of the fans of his former club Inter. Getty Images
Now their aim is to retain it – something only Real Madrid have managed in the last 35 years.
“Last season we fulfilled the objective which everybody connected to the club had been dreaming about,” PSG's coach said recently.
“But we want to keep on making history and now that would mean winning two Champions Leagues in a row. That is our objective.
“Last season nobody thought we were capable of winning it and we showed that we were.
“The dream is to win it again. We know it will be very difficult, but we are delighted to have that as a dream.”
PSG's victory ended a run of 20 years in which the winners had always come from either England, Spain, Germany or Italy.
Those four nations still dominate the competition – 19 of the 36 teams in the league phase hail from the Premier League, La Liga, German Bundesliga or Serie A, with England contributing six clubs thanks notably to Tottenham Hotspur winning last season's Europa League.
With three teams coming from France, there is increasingly less room for sides from smaller European leagues to be represented at this level.
In total, only 16 countries will have clubs involved in the Champions League proper, while European football's governing body Uefa has 55 member associations.
But there is still some variety, with only half of the teams involved in Thursday's draw also having featured in last season's league phase.
Almaty, near Kazakhstan's border with China, is 5,800km by land east of Budapest, where this season's final will be played.
Union Saint-Gilloise also feature for the first time after the Brussels club claimed a first Belgian title in 90 years.
Meanwhile Pafos, whose squad includes 38-year-old Brazilian former Chelsea, PSG and Arsenal defender David Luiz, have qualified off the back of a first Cypriot title.
“We are the black sheep of the Champions League and the expectation is that we will suffer and lose games, but we will fight, compete and just enjoy the journey,” their Spanish coach Juan Carlos Carcedo, a long-time former assistant to Unai Emery, told Marca.
