UEFA today convened on a video conference to decide on what will happen to the competitions they run, including the European Championships, the Champions League and the Europa League this season.
The conclusion they have reached, according to the Daily Mirror’s report, is that the final of both competitions will be pushed back. The Champions League final is now to be held on the June 27th, three days after the Europa League on the 24th. This has yet to be confirmed by UEFA, however.
The European Championships will now be played next summer in 2021, in place of the Nations League. That’s a sensible first step, and will hopefully open the door for domestic leagues and European competitions to be played in the summer instead of the international tournament.
There are still second round, second leg games to squeeze in (including Chelsea’s against Bayern Munich) and then quarter and semi finals after that. Even playing one legged games at neutral venues, it’s a lot to squeeze in given we don’t know how soon the players will be happy returning to the pitch.
However with the coronavirus still raging across Europe, it’s not clear what kind of state the continent will be in come June. This seems like a very hopeful move, even in the best case scenario.
