Finals of 2023 European Champions and Challenge Cup shifted to Aviva Stadium

Aviva Stadium will be hosting the finals of the 2023 edition of the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup as confirmed by the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR).

The 2023 finals had been originally scheduled for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London but with the Premier League concluding later than usual due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the organisers have shifted the matches to Dublin.

Dublin had already hosted three Champions Cup finals previously starting from 1999 when Ulster defeated Colomiers 21-6 and four years later Toulouse edged out Perpignan 22-17.

The last time the final was played in Dublin was in 2013 when Toulon edged out Clermont Auvergne 16-15 and in the same year the Aviva Stadium also hosted the European Challenge Cup final when Leinster defeated Stade Francais.

“Following extensive discussions with all stakeholders, including the Aviva Stadium, Dublin City Council and the IRFU, we are delighted to be bringing the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Finals back to Dublin next May.

“The ground has a strong association with EPCR, having staged three finals over the years, and we are very much looking forward to returning to Dublin. We are very happy to continue working with Tottenham Hotspur to stage our finals there soon.

“It is a sensational stadium with a burgeoning history of hosting rugby matches. In the meantime, it is exciting to be returning to a rugby heartland at the Aviva Stadium, and we look forward to welcoming fans, clubs, players and stakeholders to what promises to be an outstanding weekend in May next year.”

DUBLIN’S EUROPEAN FINALS

1999: Ulster Rugby 21 Colomiers 6, Lansdowne Road
2003: Stade Toulousain 22 Perpignan 17, Lansdowne Road
2013: RC Toulon 16 ASM Clermont Auvergne 15, Aviva Stadium
2013: (Challenge Cup): Leinster Rugby 34 Stade Francais Paris 13, RDS Arena