Infantino visited Georgia, possible venue for the Champions League final in 2028

FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited Georgia on Wednesday to inspect the facilities in preparation for the capital, Tbilisi, to host the Champions League final in 2028.

Infantino was received by the president of the Georgian Football Federation, Levan Kobiashvili, with whom he inspected the sports centre being built in Tbilisi under the patronage of FIFA.

According to EFE sources from the Federation, the two also observed the progress of the reconstruction work on the Mikhail Mesji stadium and the plans for the construction of a modern 70,000-seater pitch 20 kilometres outside the city.

Work on the new stadium, which will replace the outdated 55,000-seat Dinamo Arena, which hosted the 2015 Super Cup final between Barcelona and Sevilla (5-4), is due to start in 2025.

Infantino also discussed in Tbilisi the joint bid with Armenia to host the U20 World Cup in 2029, something Georgia already has experience in, having hosted the U21 European Championship in 2023.

"The Georgian Federation has done a great job and realised numerous projects, which is very good," he told local media. This week, Infantino already met in Azerbaijan's capital Baku with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobajidze on the sidelines of the climate summit.

Georgian football is enjoying the most brilliant moment in its short history as an independent country, as its national team was the surprise package of the last European Championship and has outstanding players in the continent's top leagues. In their first-ever tournament of nations, they lost in the round of 16 to champions Spain (4-1).