UEFA have confirmed plans to finish this season’s Champions League with a mini-tournament in Lisbon over 12 days in August.
Europe’s premier club competition will complete its 2019-20 edition with a final-eight World Cup-style tournament, held in the Portuguese capital, from August 12 to August 23.
After the four outstanding last-16 ties are completed – and whether they will be completed at the scheduled home stadiums or neutral venues in Portugal is still to be decided – the quarter-finals onwards will be held on neutral territory, with no fans present and, most notably, over just one leg.
If the last-16 second legs, scheduled for 7-8 August, cannot be completed at the scheduled home stadiums, Porto and Guimaraes will be added as potential venues for the matches, alongside Lisbon.
As things stand, teams will not have to quarantine either, with each club likely to set up in their own hotel away from the public so that social distancing measures can be maintained.
Meanwhile, the quarter-finals onwards in the Europa League will similarly be played over one leg in four German cities: Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen between the 10-21 August, with the final in Cologne on August 21.
As with the Champions League, the venues for the remaining last-16 games will be decided in due course – but will be held over the 5-6 August.
As things stand, teams will not have to quarantine either, with each club likely to set up in their own hotel away from the public so that social distancing measures can be maintained.
Meanwhile, the quarter-finals onwards in the Europa League will similarly be played over one leg in four German cities: Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen between the 10-21 August, with the final in Cologne on August 21.
As with the Champions League, the venues for the remaining last-16 games will be decided in due course – but will be held over the 5-6 August.
Istanbul was due to host the 2020 final but will now be the venue for the 2021 showpiece, with all other scheduled hosts moving back a year – meaning St Petersburg will host in 2022, Munich in 2023 and Wembley in 2024.
It was also announced in Wednesday’s press conference that the group stage for the 2021-22 Champions League will start on October 20.
The teams already qualified for this season’s quarter-finals are France’s PSG, Italy’s Atalanta, Spain’s Atletico Madrid and Germany’s RB Leipzig.
The remaining last-16 second-leg fixtures are Manchester City’s home tie against Real Madrid, Chelsea’s trip to Bayern Munich, Juventus’s home game against Lyon and Napoli’s visit to Barcelona.
Portugal was picked because of its location and the fact it has no teams left in the competition.
Lisbon emerged as an attractive host city because it has two stadiums with the facilities needed for elite matches – Benfica’s Estadio da Luz and Sporting Lisbon’s Estadio Jose Alvalade.
In addition, most of the country’s coronavirus restrictions are also being lifted this month, with air travel in and out of the country allowed from June 22.
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