UEFA Adjusts Timetable Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
UEFA has formally postponed the Champions League final and the European soccer, and four Round of 16 games yet to be completed, because of the Covid 19. At the moment, all major league in Europe have been suspended due to the surge of the pandemic.
The final was scheduled for May 30th in Istanbul, before the spreading Coronavirus pandemic forced the four remaining second-leg games on March 17-18 to be delayed indefinitely. UEFA said no decision has yet been made on finding a new date, although some speculations are making rounds that the football body might cancel the season to keep the record straight.
Some notable football stars have reacted to the Pandemic which has claimed over 30 thousand lives as at 29th April, 2020. It surge in Europe and America led to the suspension of all the major sporting events.
Following is a summary of decisions reached at the video conference:
- All national team matches for men and women due to be played in June 2020 are postponed until further notice. This includes the play-off matches for UEFA EURO 2020 and qualifying matches for UEFA Women’s EURO 2021
- UEFA competition matches, including the centralized international friendly matches, remain postponed until further notice.
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship final tournament scheduled for May 2020 is cancelled;
- UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship final tournament scheduled for July 2020 is cancelled;
- UEFA European Women’s Under-17 Championship final tournament scheduled for May 2020 is postponed until further notice (as it is a qualifying competition for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup);
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tournament scheduled for July 2020 is postponed until further notice (as it is a qualifying competition for the FIFA U-20 World Cup)
- UEFA Futsal Champions League finals scheduled for April 2020 are postponed until further notice.
- Deadlines related to all 2020/21 UEFA club competitions are postponed until further notice, in particular as regards the admission process and the registration of players. UEFA will set new deadlines in due course.
- The Executive Committee reiterated its full commitment to club licensing and Financial Fair Play and agreed that the current exceptional circumstances necessitate some specific interventions to facilitate the work of member associations and clubs.
- It supports the proposal to give member associations more time to complete the club licensing process, until the admission process for next season’s UEFA club competitions has been redefined.
- As a result of the increasing uncertainty generated by the ongoing extraordinary events, the Executive Committee also decided to suspend the club licensing provisions that relate to the preparation and assessment of clubs’ future financial information. This decision applies exclusively for participation in the 2020/21 UEFA club competitions.
