UEFA plans to complete the Champions League this season in Lisbon, but the Portuguese capital is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said so far there was no threat to plans to complete the Champions League campaign in 2019/20 due to the corona virus.
The COVID-19 pandemic shook Europe and caused the top flight competition to be stopped in March, and now there are plans to complete it with a mini tournament format in Lisbon, Portugal, in August.
However, Wednesday (1/7), there was a report stating that the northern region of the Portuguese capital would re-implement strict lockdown rules, limiting any mass gathering events to only allow up to five people following a surge in cases.
Ceferin dismissed the concerns that arose and claimed to have spoken with the prime minister (PM) of Portugal, Antonio Costa and the president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Fernando Gomes via video call on Tuesday (6/30), about the current situation.
A statement from Ceferin read: “I want to thank the Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa for his dedication to this plan and the work he has done with the Portuguese Football Federation to ensure that Portugal will hold a tournament successfully.”
“I am confident that with ongoing and continuous collaboration between all stakeholders, we will complete the season in a positive way in Lisbon. There is no need to look for Plan B.”
The plan is to play the rest of the Champions League matches this season, from the quarter-finals, semi-finals to the final in one leg format in Lisbon, rather than the two legs in the usual home-away format.
The 2019/20 Champions League is scheduled to resume on 12 August, with the final 11 days later. The match will be divided between Benfica’s Stadium of Light and Sporting CP’s Estadio Jose Alvalade.
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When the Champions League was stopped in March, only half of the last 16 had been completed. Paris Saint-Germain, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig have each sealed their tickets to the quarter-finals.
While the rest still play the first leg, with Manchester City winning 2-1 at Real Madrid headquarters, Bayern Munich silenced host Chelsea 3-0, Olympique Lyon led 1-0 at home to Juventus, while Napoli drew 1-1 with Barcelona.
All matches in the second leg of the phase are scheduled for August 7 and 8, although so far the location of the match has not been confirmed.
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