UEFA received nine applications before the deadline of January 12th, which included the Finnish FA’s proposal to play the prestigious game at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium.
Marco Casagrande, the General Secretary of the Finnish FA, told Yle the association had submitted their bid to try and bring a glamour game to Finland.
“I think it is part of our job to provide these big event experiences for the football audience here in Finland. We want to have the best players, and the best teams, come here with the Champions League winners and the Europa League winners. And of course that’s a big thing for Finnish people and for the game in Finland”.
Helsinki will face stiff competition with venues such as Lyon in France, Porto in Portugal and Belfast in Northern Ireland also submitting bids; but Casagrande is confident that the Finnish FA’s reputation and experience will stand it in good stead,
“We have had very good cooperation with UEFA in the past, with the hosting of other events, and they know what they will get. They know that we are professionals when it comes to hosting these events”.
Casagrande also believes the renovation of the Olympic Stadium is key to the potential success of the Helsinki bid,
“The Olympic Stadium will be totally renovated, totally new, and we hope that UEFA will see that and that they will be happy to support us and our new stadium”.
The renovation of the Olympic Stadium is due to be completed in 2019, and the new all-seater stadium capacity will be 36,000.
Final proposals for the hosting of the 2020 Super Cup Final must be delivered by March 29th, and UEFA will announce the successful applicant in May this year.