 Final's official match programme | |||||||
| Event | 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Afterextra time | |||||||
| Date | 29 May 2024 (2024-05-29) | ||||||
| Venue | Agia Sophia Stadium,Athens | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 26,842[3] | ||||||
| Weather | Partly cloudy night 21 °C (70 °F) 51%humidity[4] | ||||||
←2023 2025 → | |||||||
The2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final was the final match of the2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, the third season of Europe's tertiary clubfootball tournament organised byUEFA. It was held at theAgia Sophia Stadium inAthens, Greece, on 29 May 2024,[5][6] between Greek clubOlympiacos and Italian clubFiorentina.
Olympiacos won the match 1–0 afterextra time courtesy of a header byAyoub El Kaabi[7] for their first European title, also becoming the first Greek club to win a European trophy.[8] As winners, they qualified for the league phase of the2024–25 UEFA Europa League. Meanwhile, Fiorentina lost their second consecutive final, becoming the first team to lose European finals in consecutive seasons sinceBenfica in the2013 and2014 Europa League finals.
This wasOlympiacos' first European final and only the second to feature a Greek team, the other coming in the1971 European Cup final whichPanathinaikos lost toAjax. Five weeks prior to this final,Olympiacos' under-19 team had won the2023–24 UEFA Youth League, the first UEFA competition win for a Greek club at any level.Fiorentina became the first club to play in two UEFA Europa Conference League finals and the first to contest them consecutively.[9] Fiorentina were looking to win their first major trophy since winning the2000–01 Coppa Italia, and their first European title since winning the1960–61 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Both managers were seeking their first Europa Conference League title, with Olympiacos'José Luis Mendilibar the more experienced in winning a European trophy, having won theprevious year's Europa League final withSevilla. With a win, Mendilibar would become the first manager to win two different major European trophies in consecutive seasons since fellow SpaniardRafael Benítez won the2003–04 UEFA Cup withValencia and the2004–05 UEFA Champions League withLiverpool, the sixth manager ever to achieve that, and the second to do it with different clubs.[note 1]
| Team | Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
 Olympiacos | None |
 Fiorentina | 1 (2023) |
TheAgia Sophia Stadium inAthens, known as the OPAP Arena for sponsorship reasons, was home ofAEK 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 (in1983,1994 and2007), threeCup Winners' Cup finals (in1971,1973 and1987) and the2023 UEFA Super Cup.
On 21 June 2022, UEFA opened the bidding process for the final, which was held in parallel with that of the2025 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 aUEFA category four stadium, with a gross capacity of between 30,000 and 50,000 preferred. The bidding timeline was as follows:[5]
The UEFA Executive Committee appointed the Agia Sophia Stadium as the host during their meeting inNyon, 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 andUEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. Should the venue meet the requirements, the appointment will be officially confirmed in December 2023.[12]
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
| Olympiacos | Round | Fiorentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europa League | Europa Conference League | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Qualifying phase (EL,ECL) | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||
 Genk | 2–1 | 1–0 (H) | 1–1 (A) | Third qualifying round | Bye | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 Čukarički | 6–1 | 3–1 (H) | 3–0 (A) | Play-off round |  Rapid Wien | 2–1 | 0–1 (A) | 2–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Result | Group stage (EL,ECL) | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 SC Freiburg | 2–3 (H) | Matchday 1 | Genk | 2–2 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TSC | 2–2 (A) | Matchday 2 |  Ferencváros | 2–2 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 West Ham United | 2–1 (H) | Matchday 3 | Čukarički | 6–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Ham United | 0–1 (A) | Matchday 4 | Čukarički | 1–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SC Freiburg | 0–5 (A) | Matchday 5 | Genk | 2–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TSC | 5–2 (H) | Matchday 6 | Ferencváros | 1–1 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group A third place
Source:UEFA | Final standings | Group F winners | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Europa Conference League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ferencváros | 2–0 | 1–0 (H) | 1–0 (A) | Knockout round play-offs | Bye | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 Maccabi Tel Aviv | 7–5 | 1–4 (H) | 6–1 (a.e.t.) (A) | Round of 16 | Maccabi Haifa | 5–4 | 4–3 (A) | 1–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||
 Fenerbahçe | 3–3(3–2p) | 3–2 (H) | 0–1 (a.e.t.) (A) | Quarter-finals |  Viktoria Plzeň | 2–0 | 0–0 (A) | 2–0 (a.e.t.) (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Aston Villa | 6–2 | 4–2 (A) | 2–0 (H) | Semi-finals | Club Brugge | 4–3 | 3–2 (H) | 1–1 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The original identity of the 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 1 September 2023.[13]
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]
After a goalless ninety minutes, the match went into extra-time. In the 116th minute Olympiacos went in front whenAyoub 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 bySantiago Hezze.[15] After a lengthyVAR check the goal was eventually awarded and Olympiacos went on to win their first European trophy.[16]
The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.
| Olympiacos | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Fiorentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
          Olympiacos[4] |      Fiorentina[4] |
Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[17]
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After the match Prime Minister of GreeceKyriakos Mitsotakis made a post on social media platformX, describing Olympiacos as "a true legend". This win caused a big celebration with several thousand Olympiacos fans gathered inPiraeus, Greece.[19]
