Why is Saturday’s Champions League final being played three hours earlier than usual?

Saturday’s Champions League final will kick off three hours earlier than usual due to an initiative UEFA announced last summer.

Holders Paris Saint-Germain look to defend their title against Arsenal at the 67,000 capacity Puskas Arena in Budapest. The game will be played at the new kick-off time of 6pm CET (12pm ET, 5pm BST) instead of 9pm CET (3pm ET, 8pm BST).

In August 2025, UEFA announced that it would bring forward the kick-off time of its men’s Champions League final by three hours, in an attempt to encourage more fans to travel and watch the game online.

In their statement confirming the news, UEFA, European football’s governing body, cited a “more accessible broadcasting window”, “improved access to public transport” and a “safer, more convenient journey back from the stadium” as reasons for the change.

It also mentioned a “boost” for host cities to the “positive economic impact of the event” as the earlier end to the game will give fans the opportunity to celebrate in the city afterwards.

This is not the first time an adjustment to the men’s Champions League final has been made, as UEFA switched the scheduling of the Champions League final from a Wednesday to a Saturday in 2010.

PSG, winners of last season’s Champions League, head into Saturday’s game having won the Ligue 1, the UEFA Super Cup, and the French Super Cup this season.

The French side have only lost two of their 16 games in the competition this campaign (a 2-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich on November 4 and a 2-1 defeat to Sporting on January 20) with both of those defeats coming in the league phase.

Last Sunday, Arsenal lifted the Premier League for the first time in 22 years, and they are yet to lose in the Champions League this season. It is the north London side’s first time competing in the Champions League final since a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in May 2006.