Stockholm to host 2017 UEFA Europa League final

Stockholm's Friends Arena will host a UEFA club competition final for the first time after being named as the host venue for the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League final.

The stadium staged the 2013 UEFA Women's EURO final won by Germany, while the nearby Råsunda (the venue it replaced) hosted the 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, when Chelsea FC beat VfB Stuttgart 1-0. Sweden's other five previous club competition deciders took place in Gothenburg, the UEFA Cup in 1982, 1987 and 2004, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 and 1990.

The decision was taken at Monday's UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Prague.

The 2016 UEFA Europa League final take place at Basel's St. Jakob-Park on 18 May.

Factfile: Friends Arena
UEFA capacity: 50,000
Tenants: AIK Solna, Sweden
Opened: November 2012

• Opened on 14 November 2012 with a friendly between Sweden and England, the Friends Arena (named after an anti-bullying campaign) is the successor to the nearby Råsunda as the national stadium.

• The venue boasts a retractable roof which allows it to become a 75,000-capacity indoor concert hall.

• The Swedish men's national team and AIK moved from the Råsunda, with other events at the Friends Arena including the Swedish Cup final, the Swedish Bandy Championship, the Scandinavian FIM Speedway Grand Prix and Sweden's Eurovision qualifiers.

• Solna itself is a municipality to the north of Stockholm, home to around 60,000 people.

• Germany won their sixth straight UEFA European Women's Championship in the stadium in July 2013 with a 1-0 win against Norway, watched by 41,301.