Olympiacos won the match 1–0 after extra time for their first UEFA Europa Conference League title, becoming the first Greek club to win a European trophy.[7] As winners, they qualified for the league phase of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League. Meanwhile, Fiorentina lost their second consecutive final, becoming the first team to lose two consecutive finals since Benfica in 2012-13 and 2013-14 UEFA Europa League finals. In extra time, Olympiacos got the winning goal with a header by Ayoub El Kaabi assisted by Santiago Hezze.[8]
The Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, known as the OPAP Arena for sponsorship reasons, was home of AEK Athens, one of Olympiacos' local rivals. The stadium opened in September 2022,[10] and had a capacity of 31,100.[11] The match was the eighth single-leg UEFA club final to be played in Greece, having hosted three European Cup/Champions League finals (in 1983, 1994 and 2007), three Cup Winners' Cup finals (in 1971, 1973 and 1987) and the 2023 UEFA Super Cup.
Host selection
On 21 June 2022, UEFA opened the bidding process for the final, which was held in parallel with that of the 2025 final. Interested bidders could bid for either one or both of the finals. The proposed venues had to include natural grass and be ranked as a UEFA category four stadium, with a gross capacity of between 30,000 and 50,000 preferred. The bidding timeline was as follows:[5]
21 June 2022: Applications formally invited
31 August 2022: Closing date for registering intention to bid
7 September 2022: Bid requirements made available to bidders
3 November 2022: Submission of preliminary bid dossier
23 February 2023: Submission of final bid dossier
28 June 2023: Appointment of host
The UEFA Executive Committee appointed the Agia Sophia Stadium as the host during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 28 June 2023. As the stadium is new and has never been operated by the club for international competitions, the venue is subject to an observation period until November 2023 for matches played in UEFA club competitions and UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. Should the venue meet the requirements, the appointment will be officially confirmed in December 2023.[12]
The original identity of the 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 1 September 2023.[13]
Ticketing
The stadium has a capacity of 32,500, and 27,100 were made available of which 21,000 were on sale to the general public. Each club in the final received an allocation of 9,000 tickets each.[14]
Match
Summary
After a goalless ninety minutes, the match went into extra-time. In the 116th minute Olympiacos went in front when Ayoub El Kaabi got the only goal of the match when he stooped low to head the ball into the left corner of the net after a cross from the left by Santiago Hezze.[15]
After a lengthy VAR check the goal was eventually awarded and Olympiacos went on to win their first European trophy.[16]
Details
The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.
After the match Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a post on social media platform X, describing Olympiacos as "a true legend". This win caused a big celebration with several thousand Olympiacos fans gathered in Piraeus, Greece.[19]
^ abcd"Team statistics"(PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2024. Archived(PDF) from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
