Champions League organizers are exploring the possibility of hosting a “destination” semi-final in the same city in the future, with Portugal also under consideration.
The move will mirror last season’s Top 14 semi-finals in San Sebastian and it is understood EPCR is assessing whether it would be feasible to do so at the tournament.
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This weekend’s semifinals were scheduled to be played at a neutral site, but the higher-ranked team has home field advantage. Indeed, Leinster stayed in Dublin but moved their game against Northampton to Croke Park, while Toulouse also stayed at home but moved their game against Harlequins to nearby Football field.
In the future, both games could be held in the same city, with Porto, Lisbon and Marseille among other possibilities. Given the tension between the quarter-finals and semi-finals, organizers are unsure whether there will be enough demand to play the games at a truly neutral venue, but if further investigation shows there is such a need, it could lead to welcome changes to the format The change. With a combined attendance of nearly 115,000 for the weekend’s two semi-finals, the temptation to maintain the status quo is clear.
If the destination semi-finals become a reality, Portugal would be an obvious potential host given their performance at last year’s World Cup. Spain is also an option, with Bilbao set to host the final in 2026 and organizers considering bringing in a team to take part in the Challenge Cup.
It could be helped by the fact that Premier League fortunes have improved in recent games, with both teams reaching the semi-finals after years of poor results, and clubs choosing to prioritize their domestic leagues. “We know there’s a good chance the England team wants to win the game and we want to try and win the game but it’s difficult,” Harlequins defender Danny Care said. “This year we said we wanted to give it a try and see where it takes us.”
