UEFA Champions League
Champions League and Europa League is said to continue immediately after coronavirus battle is over. The 55 national associations in Europe for the first time since March 17 when they held the lasting and decided the postponement of the both Champions Leagues and Europa League. They will hold a video call meeting and conclude on if the league will continue or not.
UEFA body has two working groups who are charged with the responsibility of looking at everything from the football calendar to the financial impact of an global pandemic on football. The body used the opportunity to update the governing bodies of each country, including the associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The video conference call is scheduled to last up to 90 minutes and will be chaired by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who is in Slovenia. No major decision is expected. It is thought that UEFA only announced details of this latest meeting because they knew details would emerge, following several leaks during their last conference call.
The video call will involve discussions on how to re-arrange dates for the Women’s 2021 European Championship, staged in England, and Men’s 2021 Under-21 European Championship, held in Hungary and Slovenia.
UEFA has an ambition to conclude the competitions, even if it involves reducing quarter-final and semi-final ties to one game over a neutral venue. In the Champions League, 12 clubs from five countries which includes England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are all waiting to find out whether this season’s competition will restart.
Four matches in four countries remain outstanding in the round-of-16 second leg, including Manchester City vs Real Madrid and Bayern Munich vs Chelsea, while in the Europa League, 16 clubs from 11 countries are affected. The remaining matches includes Bayer Leverkusen vs Rangers, Wolves vs Olympiakos and Manchester United vs LASK.
Coronavirus has affected both Champions League and Europa League as it has also affected all sporting activities across Europe. UEFA cannot agree dates for its competitions to return until this virus is completely combated since is airborne.
There is a determination to finish this season’s Champions League and Europa League on or before June 30. June 30th remains the preferred deadline for the both Europe’s leagues and competitions, but finishing the season in July, and possibly later, will be discussed.
There is obvious frustration by a lack of ability to establish any dates, but the governing body and their administrators acknowledge that their competitions must always remain second to the No 1 priority which is saving people’s lives. They will try to avoid any additional strain on health services across Europe.