On March 13, UEFA announced the postponement of the Champions League amid the coronavirus pandemic. Ever since, fans have been wondering: When will Champions League resume?
With many European nations going on complete lockdown from March to June, playing football became secondary. Nonetheless, soccer is the most important of the unimportant things in life, and players, clubs and fans want to see the competition completed.
In the light of developments due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe and related decisions made by different governments, all UEFA club competitions matches scheduled next week are postponed. #UCL and #UEL quarter-final draws have also been postponed.
Full statement:— UEFA (@UEFA) March 13, 2020
So when will Champions League resume? Here’s the latest.
When Will Champions League Resume
Return Date: August 2020
Round of 16: Aug. 7-8
Quarterfinals: Aug. 12-15
Semifinals: Aug. 18-19
Final: Aug. 23
(Updated: July 7, 2020.)
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
UEFA held a video conference on Tuesday, March 17, in which it decided to postpone Euro 2020 to 2021. The postponement of the second-largest men’s soccer tournament in the world means European leagues will have the opportunity to conclude in the summer, assuming the pandemic crisis has subsided.
On April 1, UEFA suspended Champions League and Europa League matches "until further notice." UEFA initially said it wanted to complete both the Champions League and Europa League by June 30, with president Aleksander Ceferin saying the season could be lost if it is not completed by that date. These dates have been pushed back however, given the severity of the coronavirus pandemic throughout Europe and the world.
On April 23, UEFA met once more to determine how clubs might qualify for next season's Champions League if domestic seasons are unable to complete, while also pushing Women's Euro 2021 to 2022.
On May 17, UEFA said it was aiming to complete the Champions League and Europa League campaigns by August.
On June 15, reports suggested UEFA would hold an eight-team tournament in August. After the Round of 16 is completed at the scheduled venues Aug. 7-8, the quarterfinals will be Aug. 12-15 followed by semifinals Aug. 18-19 and the final on Aug. 23, all in Lisbon. Those reports were confirmed on June 18.
Can #UCL teams register new players?
Key amendments & rule changes for 2019/20— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) July 7, 2020
A similar format will be used to decide the Europa League competition in Germany from Aug. 10 to Aug. 21., with matches in Duisburg, Duesseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Cologne, which will host the final.
(Reuters contributed to this report.)
