WDue to escalating tensions in the Middle East, Qatar has been excluded from hosting the final between Argentina and Spain, with UEFA insisting the match be moved to Santiago Bernab. However, this option does not seem to be viable for the Argentine Football Association (AFA). This is because it does not guarantee a neutral venue, which is necessary for a match involving an intercontinental title.
In this context, AFA President Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia proposed that the match be played at the Estadio Monumental, the home of River Plate, and promised to make the necessary arrangements with CONMEBOL to change the finalisima venue.
“We’re going to get to work because Spain wants the Finalissima to be held in Spain, and I want it to be held at Monumental,” Tapia declared as he left the court.
The concert that stands in the way of Finalissima
This proposal faces major scheduling conflicts. River Plate have no home game scheduled for March 27, but the Monumental Stadium has already been booked for a series of AC/DC concerts.
The historic Australian rock band will also play Estadio Monumental on the same day, in addition to other shows scheduled for the 27th and 31st of this month. This AC/DC concert greatly complicates the possibility of hosting the Argentina vs. Spain Finalissima at that venue.
One possible alternative would be to reschedule the Finalissima, but given the extremely tight international football calendar, that option seems unlikely. Another possibility is to move the match to the June FIFA period, which runs from June 1 to June 9, less than two weeks before the start of the FIFA World Cup.
Given this scenario, there is a real possibility that the final between Argentina and Spain could be canceled, and many soccer fans will be disappointed to have missed out on the chance to watch the showdown between the two biggest national teams, especially the much-anticipated duel between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal.
