On Wednesday 7 June, West Ham United will face Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. The match will kick off at 20:00 BST and will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website. West Ham are looking to secure their first major trophy in 43 years, with their last major European trophy being the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965 and their last major domestic trophy being the 1980 FA Cup.
The Europa Conference League is in its second season and is a third tier European club football competition after the Champions League and Europa League. Last season, Roma won the inaugural Europa Conference League final after defeating Feyenoord. Uefa chose Prague as a venue before last season’s competition actually started, but due to the tournament’s popularity with clubs from bigger countries, Uefa have already decided to increase the minimum final capacity to 30,000 from next season.
If West Ham are successful, they will secure a third successive season in Europe and join fellow Premier League clubs Liverpool and Brighton in next season’s competition. This means that eight English clubs will compete in Europe next season: Manchester City (Champions League group), Arsenal (Champions League), Manchester United (Champions League), Newcastle United (Champions League), Liverpool (Europa League), Brighton (Europa League), Aston Villa (Europa Conference League play-off round).
Fiorentina finished eighth in this season’s Serie A and have not won a major European title since the 1960-61 European Cup Winners’ Cup. This is Vincenzo Italiano’s side’s second final of the season after finishing runners-up to Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia.
West Ham boss David Moyes said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be in the final. It’s a big achievement for the club, but now it’s about going and winning it.” Fiorentina manager Vincenzo Italiano added: “It is my first season in Europe and reaching the final is a great satisfaction. This path to the final will always remain with us but now we have a mission to complete.”