 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League | ||||||
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| Date | 25 May 2022 (2022-05-25) | ||||||
| Venue | Arena Kombëtare,Tirana | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Chris Smalling (Roma)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | István Kovács (Romania)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 19,597[3] | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny 23 °C (73 °F) 51%humidity[4] | ||||||
2023 → | |||||||
The2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final was the final match of the2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, the first season of Europe's tertiary clubfootball tournament organised byUEFA. It was played on 25 May 2022 at theArena Kombëtare inTirana, Albania,[5][6] between Italian clubRoma and Dutch clubFeyenoord.
Roma won the match 1–0 to secure the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League title, the first club from Italy to win a UEFA competition in 12 years.[7][8][9] As they had already qualified for the group stage of the2022–23 UEFA Europa League via their domestic league performance, that competition's access list was rebalanced, with Feyenoord qualifying for the group stage instead of play-off round as the third place in the2021–22 Eredivisie. If Roma had not qualified for the Champions League or the Europa League through their league performance, they would have received a place in the Europa League group stage instead.
The match was the first UEFA competition final to be played in Albania. The 21,690-seatArena Kombëtare is the home stadium of theAlbania national team, as well as clubsDinamo Tirana andPartizani. Construction of the stadium began in 2016[10] and was completed by November 2019.[11]
A bidding process was launched by UEFA to select the venues of the finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022 and2023. Associations interested in hosting one of the finals had until 20 February 2020 to submit bid dossiers.
| Association | Stadium | City | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Albania | Arena Kombëtare | Tirana | 22,500 |
 France | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard | Saint-Étienne | 41,965 |
 Greece | Pankritio Stadium | Heraklion | 26,240 |
 North Macedonia | Toše Proeski Arena | Skopje | 33,460 |
Arena Kombëtare was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 3 December 2020.[12][13][6][14]
This was Roma's third final in a major UEFA competition, having lost the1984 European Cup final toLiverpool and the1991 UEFA Cup final to fellow Italian clubInter Milan, who were the most recent Italian club to reach a European final – losing in the2020 UEFA Europa League final.[15] Roma was seeking to win their first trophy since the2007–08 Coppa Italia, and a first European title for an Italian side since Inter won the2010 UEFA Champions League final. Their head coachJosé Mourinho, having become the first manager to reach European finals with four different clubs – including the aforementioned 2010 Champions League final, was seeking to become only the third manager – afterUdo Lattek andGiovanni Trapattoni – to havewon all three existing major European trophies, and the first to achieve the UEFA treble by winning theEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League,UEFA Cup/Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League (in place of the now-defunctUEFA Cup Winners' Cup).[16]
This was Feyenoord's fourth final in a major UEFA competition, having won the1970 European Cup final and both the1974 and2002 UEFA Cup finals. The first Dutch club to reach a European final sincetheir rivalsAjax lost the2017 UEFA Europa League final to Mourinho'sManchester United and the most recent to win a European title, they were seeking to joinJuventus, Ajax,Bayern Munich,Chelsea and Manchester United as the only clubs to havewon all three existing major European trophies, and the first to achieve the UEFA treble by winning the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League (again in place of the Cup Winners' Cup). Their head coachArne Slot was seeking to become the first Dutch to win a European trophy sinceDick Advocaat withZenit Saint Petersburg in the2008 UEFA Super Cup.[17][16]
The two sides previously met twice in European competitions, in the2014–15 UEFA Europa Leagueround of 32, with Roma won one and drew one.[18]
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
 Roma | Round |  Feyenoord | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Qualifying phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bye | Second qualifying round |  Drita | 3–2 | 0–0 (A) | 3–2 (H) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Third qualifying round |  Luzern | 6–0 | 3–0 (A) | 3–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trabzonspor | 5–1 | 2–1 (A) | 3–0 (H) | Play-off round |  IF Elfsborg | 6–3 | 5–0 (H) | 1–3 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 CSKA Sofia | 5–1 (H) | Matchday 1 |  Maccabi Haifa | 0–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Zorya Luhansk | 3–0 (A) | Matchday 2 |  Slavia Prague | 2–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Bodø/Glimt | 1–6 (A) | Matchday 3 |  Union Berlin | 3–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bodø/Glimt | 2–2 (H) | Matchday 4 | Union Berlin | 2–1 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zorya Luhansk | 4–0 (H) | Matchday 5 | Slavia Prague | 2–2 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CSKA Sofia | 3–2 (A) | Matchday 6 | Maccabi Haifa | 2–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group C winners
Source:UEFA | Final standings | Group E winners
Source:UEFA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vitesse | 2–1 | 1–0 (A) | 1–1 (H) | Round of 16 |  Partizan | 8–3 | 5–2 (A) | 3–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bodø/Glimt | 5–2 | 1–2 (A) | 4–0 (H) | Quarter-finals | Slavia Prague | 6–4 | 3–3 (H) | 3–1 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Leicester City | 2–1 | 1–1 (A) | 1–0 (H) | Semi-finals |  Marseille | 3–2 | 3–2 (H) | 0–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The logo of the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 27 August 2021 inIstanbul.[citation needed]
The ambassador for the final was former Albanian internationalLorik Cana.[citation needed]
On 11 May 2022, UEFA announced RomanianIstván Kovács, aFIFA referee since 2010, would officiate the final. Kovács officiated six matches in the2021–22 Champions League, three matches in the2021–22 Europa League and one group stage fixture in the 2021–22 Europa Conference League season. He served as a referee atUEFA Euro 2020, where he officiated one group stage match. He also was a referee at the2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship,2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He was joined by his fellow countrymen Vasile Marinescu and Ovidiu Artene as assistant referees.Sandro Schärer of Switzerland served as the fourth official, while GermanMarco Fritz was appointed as the video assistant referee. Fritz's compatriotsChristian Dingert andBastian Dankert served as the assistant and support VAR officials, respectively.[2]
The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.
          Roma[4] |      Feyenoord[4] |
Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[20]
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59': Giallo per Foti per proteste nella panchina della Roma. Poco prima il Feyenoord ancora pericoloso dalla sinistra: Kocku arriva al tiro, Smalling in scivolata salva[59 minutes: A yellow for Foti for protesting on the Roma bench. Shortly before that Feyenoord were still dangerous from the left: Kökçü got in a shot, Smalling saved with a slide.]
