Uefa Unveils Plans To Complete European Competitions
UEFA has announced details of its plans to finish the 2019/20 editions of the men’s Champions League, Europa League, and Women’s Champions League tournaments.
The ‘final eight’ tournament of the men’s Champions League will take place in Lisbon between 12th and 23rd August, with outstanding quarter finals, semi finals and the final being played as a straight, one-legged knockout competition.
The four remaining Round of 16 second-leg matches – which include Chelsea and Manchester City – will be played on the 7th and 8th August, with UEFA to decide at a later date whether they will take place at the home team’s stadiums or in Portugal.
The Europa League will follow the same format, and will take place in Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen between 10th and 21st August.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Champions league is set to host its ‘final eight’ tournament in Spain, taking place in Bilbao and San Sebastian between 21st and 30th August.
“I am delighted that we are able to resume almost all of our competitions,” said Aleksander Ceferin, President, UEFA. “I am confident that we will not have to endure the fans’ absence for long and that they will be allowed into stadiums sooner rather than later.
“UEFA took a bold decision when it decided to postpone EURO 2020. But in doing so, we created the space which has allowed domestic club competitions across the continent to resume, where possible, and play to a conclusion. While the game has suffered huge difficulties as a result of the pandemic, those blows would have landed much harder if we had not shown leadership in those early days.
“It is of the utmost importance for us not only to complete our men’s and women’s competitions but also to finish our youth and futsal competitions whenever possible. We are firm believers of their importance and significance of the overall growth and development of the game, and I am delighted that we found solutions to stage the final rounds of all those competitions.
“Particularly with the Women’s Champions League, it was important to send a strong signal that it is possible to complete this season, in a time where women’s sports have suffered substantially. This competition has exciting times ahead with the format change in 2021/2022 and we want to enhance the momentum in the women’s game, not lose it.”
UEFA has also announced that Istanbul, which was due to host the Champions League final in 2020, and Gdansk, which was due to be the venue for the Europa League final, will now both host the 2021 editions of their respective competitions, with later hosting agreements also pushed back accordingly.
