Football: UEFA has its schedule

Text by: Frédéric Suteau Follow

The executive committee of the European Football Confederation (UEFA) is expected to propose on April 23 its calendar to end the season on the continent: the championships end on August 3 at the latest and the Champions League final on August 29.

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Nothing is official yet, but the European Football Confederation (UEFA) plan to end the current season is ready. This April 21, the general secretaries of the 55 federations of the authority were meeting by videoconference. The UEFA leaders presented them with a road map, namely a two-step calendar: first finish the national championships, and then finish the European cups.

For a month and a half, all European football has been stopped and there are still around ten championship days to go. The idea of ​​UEFA is to give a deadline for the different countries to play the last matches. The date chosen would be August 3, the deadline to complete the championship. Everyone is free to organize themselves to achieve this.

The health situation and the progress of the Covid-19 pandemic are not the same, in fact, from one country to another. In Germany, for example, clubs have been allowed to resume training. The Bundesliga could thus restart in May with shoulder to shoulder for the title Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Borussia M'Gladbach, four teams who stand in 6 points nine days from the end . In Italy, England or France, on the other hand, the championships cannot resume until later, the time still being, in these countries, in confinement.

Resumption of the French Championship in mid-June ?

On the French side, the League expects a resumption of training in clubs in mid-May, the deconfinement being scheduled for May 11. That would mean matches from mid-June, enough to play the last 10 days of Ligue 1 before August 3. This scheme is theoretical. Everything will depend on the evolution of the pandemic. However, it seems certain that all these championships can only end in camera, without spectators.

UEFA does not provide for sanctions for countries whose championship cannot end. But the European body clearly puts pressure on its federations. Instances that cannot finish their championship before August 3 must justify themselves in writing.

Champions League final on August 29 ?

This date of August 3 is crucial for UEFA because then, in the wake, it will be necessary to dispute the end of the European cups. This is the calendar that UEFA should validate on April 23, during its Executive Committee. After August 3, the clubs still competing in the Champions League (C1) and in the Europa League (C2) will resume competition where it stopped in March, that is to say between the eighth and quarter-finals . We do not yet know what formula will be offered by UEFA. Probably knockout matches, without return, from the quarter-finals. Recall that two French clubs are still in contention in C1: Paris Saint Germain qualified for the quarters and Lyon which must play its eighth final return against Juventus de Turin. There could be a place unit for the semi-finals and the final. The dates of the finals in any case would already be decided: Thursday, August 27 for the Europa League and Saturday, August 29 for the Champions League.

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