OFFICIAL: UEFA confirms Champions League restart date & unique format after Covid-19 hiatus
UEFA have confirmed the details of the Champions League’s restart in August and unique format of this season’s edition of the showpiece club tournament, as it gets set to return from its coronavirus-enforced break.
After a videoconference held on Wednesday to discuss the competition, which has been postponed since March owing to the outbreak of Covid-19, the European football governing body announced its decision at a live Executive Committee chaired by its president Aleksander Ceferin.
The #UCL quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be played as a straight knockout tournament in Lisbon between 12 and 23 August 2020. All these ties will be single-leg fixtures. Read more ⬇️
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 17, 2020
The remaining round of 16 ties will be played on August 7-8 at venues to be determined, before the quarterfinals (August 12-15), semi-finals (August 18-19) and final (August 23) all take place in Lisbon, Portugal.
“The 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be played as a single straight knockout tournament in Lisbon, Portugal in August. All these ties will be single-leg fixtures," read a UEFA statement.
"A decision is pending on whether the four remaining round of 16 second legs will take place at the home team’s stadium or in Portugal.
🏆 🇵🇹 NEWS: #UCL quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be played as a straight knock-out at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica and the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon from 12 - 23 August 2020. Remaining round of 16 matches will be played on the 7/8 August. #UEFAExCopic.twitter.com/qeJX0k7t8c
— UEFA (@UEFA) June 17, 2020
"The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be split between Benfica’s Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Sporting CP’s Estádio José Alvalade.
"The Estádio do Dragão in Porto and the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães will host the four outstanding round of 16 second legs if required.”
Originally scheduled to hold the final this year, the city of Istanbul will have its hosting duties moved to 2021 while Russia's St Petersburg hosts in 2022.
🏟️ Istanbul, originally appointed to stage the 2020 #UCLfinal, will now host the 2021 final. Venues for subsequent finals all agreed to host these a year later than originally planned.🇵🇹 2020 Lisbon🇹🇷 2021 Istanbul🇷🇺 2022 St-Petersburg🇩🇪 2023 Munich🏴 2024 London pic.twitter.com/mVWJ1jqO7u
— UEFA (@UEFA) June 17, 2020
As for the Europa League, this season's quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will also be contested in a one-game knockout format, in their case in Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen from August 10 to 21.
🏆 🇩🇪 NEWS: #UEL quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final will be played as a straight knock-out tournament in Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen between 10 and 21 August. The final will be in Cologne. Draw dates will follow in due course. pic.twitter.com/FkpGezYfyK
— UEFA (@UEFA) June 17, 2020
On September 24, the winners of each competition will meet in Budapest to contest the Super Cup.