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Wembley to host Champions League final

Pa,Martyn Ziegler
Friday 23 January 2009 14:11 GMT
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Wembley Stadium is set to be named by Uefa next week as the venue for the 2011 Champions League final.

The stadium is up against competition from Germany - Munich's Allianz Arena or Berlin's Olympiastadion - but senior Uefa sources have confirmed it will almost certainly go to Wembley.

Uefa have already delayed a decision on the 2011 venue once specifically to allow the British Government time to push through an exemption on tax rules for the players appearing in the final.

The final decision will be taken at Uefa's executive committee meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on Thursday and Friday next week.

Dublin's Lansdowne Road stadium is the favourite to be named host venue for the 2011 Europa League final - the new name for the Uefa Cup.

Lansdowne Road is up against Arsenal's Emirates Stadium - but both competitions' finals cannot be staged in the same country - and Bucharest's National Stadium.

UEFA's executive committee will also debate the possibility of the new European Clubs' Association (ECA) imposing wage restraints on their member clubs.

The ECA, which represents 150 clubs across the continent, have their first annual meeting next month when they will decide whether members should be limited to spending a fixed proportion of their revenue on wages.

The figure has yet to be agreed, but there have been varying suggestions that clubs should only be allowed to spend 51%, 55%, 60% or 70% of turnover on wages.

Uefa will also confirm candidates for elections at the European governing body's congress in March. Former FA chairman Geoff Thompson is standing again for his position as a Uefa vice-president.

If successful, Thompson - who is also a Fifa vice-president - will reinforce his standing as one of the most powerful men in football.

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