Soccer-Baku and Madrid bid to host 2019 Champions League final

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's capital Baku is vying with Madrid to host the 2019 Champions League final, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Friday. Baku's near 70,000-seater Olympic Stadium and Atletico Madrid's new home from next season, the Estadio Metropolitano, are the two contenders to stage the final of Europe's most prestigious club competition in two years time. Madrid last staged the Champions League final in 2010, when Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich at Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium. Baku is hoping to host the event for the first time. Baku has also pitched to host the 2019 Europa League final - it cannot be selected for both - with six other cities including Tbilisi, Glasgow, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Sevilla and Istanbul lodging applications to stage the game. This season's Champions League final will take place in Cardiff, with the Europa League final in Stockholm. The final bid proposals must be delivered by June 6, 2017. The UEFA Executive Committee will select the host in September. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)