June 4 – On June 17 UEFA’s executive committee will decide the fate of both this season’s Europa League and Champions League, but reports suggest that Portugal and Germany are the early front runners to host the final stages of the Champions League.
Istanbul had been slated to host the Champions League final on May 30, but due to the coronavirus pandemic the showpiece match and other knockout matches in the competition have been postponed. With the majority of domestic leagues resuming this month, Europe’s governing body is mulling over a plan to reschedule the remaining matches of its two flagship club competitions.
UEFA would stage the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the Champions League in a single country in August to minimise potential exposure to the coronavirus and retain crucial TV monies.
German newspaper Bild wrote that Frankfurt is being considered as a final venue, but Portuguese president Rebelo de Sousa has also indicated that Portugal could stage ‘a final eight’ in Lisbon at the stadiums of both Benfica and Lisbon. A UEFA insider told the AP that both countries are contenders to host the delayed Champions League final.
In the current climate, it is very unlikely that fans will be allowed to any matches, so UEFA’s criterion for selecting a finals venue has shifted to the accessibility for both players and officials as well as the national health situation.
In March, European football came to a grinding standstill amid the coronavirus outbreak. In the Champions League, four return matches in the round of 16 remain to be played. PSG, Atletico Madrid, Atlanta and Leipzig have already qualified for the last eight.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1735003914labto1735003914ofdlr1735003914owedi1735003914sni@o1735003914fni1735003914