NYON - The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) chose the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul to stage the 2005 European Champions League final.
Speaking to the A.A correspondent on Thursday, UEFA Vice President Senes Erzik said, ''the UEFA administration's recommendations were approved by the UEFA's Executive Committee at its meeting in Nyon, Switzerland today. We expended efforts, of course. Such a decision was impossible without our efforts. Also the UEFA Secretariat General should be appreciated. They came to Istanbul and observed the stadium and they made a nice comparison among the other candidate stadiums. There were alternatives, but our offer was approved.''
''It is very important that the UEFA wants Turkey to stage next year's final of European club football's most prestigious competition. It will be the first in our region, including the Balkans. Besides, it is meaningful that it would happen during the process of Turkey's European Union membership,'' Erzik added.
The Ataturk Olympic Stadium holds 80,000 spectators and will be hosting its first UEFA club competition final. UEFA's recommendation was made on the basis of assessments that included studies of airport and hotel facilities, supporter segregation factors, hospitality, media facilities and partner interest. This year's Champions League final is being staged at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 26.
(MS-AÖ) 05.02.2004