UEFA set to decide on Champions League conclusion next week
Match schedules and venues for international soccer in Europe disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic will be decided by UEFA next week. The Champions League, for this season and next, and the postponed European Championship playoffs and final tournament are at the top of the executive committee agenda published by UEFA on Thursday.
- Sports
- Reuters
- Published Date: 01:13 | 11 June 2020
- Modified Date: 01:13 | 11 June 2020
UEFA is set to decide next week on how to conclude this season's Champions League and Europa League competitions which have been put on hold since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, the European soccer body said Thursday.
UEFA said in a statement that its executive committee would meet in a video conference on June 17 where the agenda would include "round of 16 onwards and related determinations" for both competitions.
The Champions League final was originally scheduled to be played in Istanbul and the Europa League showpiece in Gdansk, Poland, however last month UEFA said "a variety of options" were being looked at for completing the two competitions.
These could include playing the remaining stages of each competition in a single venue and reducing the quarter-final and semi-final ties to one leg instead of two.
The second legs of four Champions League last-16 ties still need to be played, while Atletico Madrid, Paris St Germain, Atalanta and RB Leipzig have already booked their places in the last eight.
In the Europa League, two round of 16 first leg ties still have to be played plus all the second legs.
The mayor of Madrid said on Tuesday that the Spanish capital was in talks about hosting the Champions League final if it was moved from Istanbul.
The meeting will also discuss the planned schedule and venues for the Euro 2020 tournament, which has been postponed until 2021, and the dates for the playoff ties which were due to be played in March.
The 24-team competition will be held across 12 cities across the continent.