The French city of Marseille was on Tuesday selected to host the 2020 European Club Rugby Championship final.
While the 2019 finals will be in Newcastle, England, attention will shift in 2020 to Marseille’s Velodrome on May 22 and 23, according to the competition organisers, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR).
The Velodrome is run by football club Marseille and is used for big Top 14 games by Toulon.
The stadium hosted the 2010 Challenge Cup final when Cardiff Blues beat Toulon.
It has undergone several redevelopments since it opened in 1937, the most recent in 2014, and has hosted matches in the 1938 and 1998 football World Cups.
The arena, which is scheduled to host some games in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, has also hosted the 1960, 1984 and 2016 European football championships and the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
The first European Cup final was in Cardiff in January 1995, so this will mark the 25th anniversary of the competition.
Though British media earlier reported that Tottenham Hotspur, who are putting the finishing touches to a 62,000 stadium in North London, were interested, the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup sanctioning body did not name any other bidders.
EPCR director general, Vincent Gaillard said: “While France is a traditional stronghold of the great game of rugby, a European finals weekend in the city of Marseille will be a whole new experience both for local fans and for our loyal supporters who travel in their tens of thousands year after year.”
