UEFA will host its next executive committee meeting in Thessaloniki on Wednesday, September 15, to decide the host cities for upcoming European club finals.
The executive committee of European football's governing body will meet in northern Greece from 09:00 to 13:00. Members will review a broad agenda that includes venue selections, youth tournament regulations, and structural changes to international competitions.
The headline item on the agenda is the appointment of host venues for major European finals across multiple formats. UEFA will select the host cities for the 2028 and 2029 finals of the Men's Champions League, the Europa League, the Conference League, and the Women's Champions League, as well as the 2027 and 2028 Super Cup matches and the 2027 Futsal Champions League final.
Competition regulations and tournament format changes
In addition to venue selection, committee members will evaluate updated competition rules for several upcoming tournaments. The agenda includes approval of regulations for the UEFA European Women's Championship, encompassing both the Women's Nations League and qualification stages for the 2027 through 2029 cycle, along with new rules for men's and women's youth competitions for the 2027-28 season.
The committee will also consider amendments to the UEFA Nations League regulations for the 2026-27 edition. These modifications will introduce a new playoff system designed to transition the tournament into a three-league concept approved earlier in May, moving away from the previous four-tier structure.
The Nations League, introduced by UEFA to replace international friendlies with competitive fixtures, previously featured four leagues divided by team rankings. The new format aims to streamline international fixtures across Europe.
Youth festival and football legends in Thessaloniki
Following the morning executive meeting, UEFA will stage a grassroots football festival on the afternoon of September 15 in central Thessaloniki at Aristotelous Square. The public event forms part of the ongoing UEFA Football in Schools programme, an initiative designed to encourage school-age children to play sports.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and Hellenic Football Federation President Makis Gagatsis will attend the opening ceremony of the festival. Sixty boys and girls from local schools will participate in football activities alongside international and Greek football figures.
Former international stars participating in the event include German figures Oliver Bierhoff and Nadine Kessler, French World Cup winner Christian Karembeu, and former Croatian midfielder Aljosa Asanovic. They will be joined by Greek football legends Theodoros Zagorakis, Angelos Basinas, Dimitris Papadopoulos, and Dimitra Panteliadou.
Zagorakis captained Greece during their Euro 2004 tournament victory alongside midfielders Basinas and Papadopoulos. Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, frequently hosts major national and regional sports gatherings.
