Postponing the EURO from this year to June of 2021 comes out to be one of the easier challenges that UEFA is facing at the moment.
Football’s governing body in Europe have multiple high-end tournaments that seem to be almost impossible to coordinate with the recent progression of the Coronavirus across Europe.
The Orginal date of the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final was set at 21:00 on Saturday, 30 May. With the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic many matches and leagues have either been cancelled or rescheduled completely.
UEFA have tried to look at 7 different scenarios and the best “possible” date was thought to be June 27 and suggested to take place in a final four format.
The postponement of the Euro by a year should have indeed cleared space for the competitions to take place and brought to a conclusion by the end of July. But as the recent news on more countries shutting down and entering into quarantine, it seems very unlikely to be the case.
There are clear issues that arise:
- For one, travelling between countries that are currently on lockdowns such as Italy, France, Spain and the United Kingdom is expected to follow suit.
- Major scheduling conflicts for the top clubs between the European competitions and the domestic leagues.
- Will fans actually be willing to travel to other countries and sit in a crowd of thousands of fans.
- Next year’s qualifying rounds are set to take place at the end of June which is where UEFA believes there is a chance to schedule a knockout type of scenario.
- Different regulations, some countries might be further ahead in the curve of the virus and with an entirely different containment situation and regulations which can send an entire team to a quarantine once they travelled to another country and there is no guarantee that regulations will ease quickly and restrictions will be lifted immediately after the resolution of the virus.
Let’s try and be optimistic for a moment and imagine that the cups do restart, the only possible solution is a playoff-type knockout situation in a neutral arena.
Where teams will need to forfeit significant revenue from home matches as well as being put in a possible situation where they are at a sportive disadvantage without their home crowd and a home leg.
UEFA would like both the UEFA Champions League & UEFA Europa League to be concluded before June 30th as next season’s 2020-21 Champions League preliminary stages take place on June 23, which adds another angle to their plans.
A glimpse of hope?
There is a driving force to schedule both tournaments’ semifinals and final over two weekends as a mini-tournament with the Champions League last four matches being played in Istanbul & the Europa League Final in Gdansk, the two original cities that are scheduled to host the finals for both competitions.
But, it seems as though this plan will not take place, the likelihood of the Turkish and Polish governments be prepared to welcome the supporters of four different teams is not high, to say the least, especially when most of the teams will hail from countries that have been under lockdown.
Unfortunately, it might be the first time that the Champions League & Europa League doesn’t have a winner.
Stay safe out there.
Below you can find a list with all the past results and Champions League Final Venues:
| Year | Stadium | Match |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Turkey | TBC – Canceled? |
| 2019 | Wanda Metropolitano | Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool |
| 2018 | NSC Olimpiyskiy | Real Madrid 3-1Liverpool |
| 2017 | Millennium Stadium | Real Madrid 4-1 Juventus |
| 2016 | San Siro | Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid |
| 2015 | Olympiastadion Berlin | Barcelona 3-1 Juventus |
| 2014 | Estadio da Luz | Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid |
| 2013 | Wembley Stadium | Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Dortmund |
| 2012 | Allianz Arena | Chelsea 1-1 Bayern Munich |
| 2011 | Wembley Stadium | Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United |
| 2010 | Estadio Santiago Bernabeu | Inter Milan 2-0 Bayern Munich |
| 2009 | Stadio Olimpico | Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United |
| 2008 | Luzhniki Stadium | Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea |
| 2007 | OAKA Stadium | AC Milan 2-1 Liverpool |
| 2006 | Stade de France | Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal |
| 2005 | Ataturk Olympic Stadium | Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan |
| 2004 | Arena AufSchalke | Porto 3-0 Monaco |
| 2003 | Old Trafford | AC Milan 0-0 Juventus |
| 2002 | Hampden Park | Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia |
| 2001 | San Siro | Bayern Munich 1-1 Valencia |
| 2000 | Stade de France | Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia |
| 1999 | Camp Nou | Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich |
| 1998 | Amsterdam ArenA | Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus |
| 1997 | Olympiastadion Munich | Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Juventus |
| 1996 | Stadio Olimpico | Juventus 1-1 Ajax |
| 1995 | Ernst Happel Stadion | Ajax 1-0 AC Milan |
| 1994 | OAKA Stadium | AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona |
| 1993 | Olympiastadion Munich | Olympique Marseille 1-0 AC Milan |
| 1992 | Wembley Stadium | Barcelona 1-0 Sampdoria |
| 1991 | Stadio San Nicola | Red Star 0-0 Olympique Marseille |
| 1990 | Prater Stadion | AC Milan 1-0 SL Benfica |
| 1989 | Camp Nou | AC Milan 4-0 Steaua Bucharest |
| 1988 | Neckarstadion | PSV 0-0 Benfica |
| 1987 | Prater Stadion | Porto 2-1 Bayern Munich |
| 1986 | Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan | Steaua Bucharest 0-0 Barcelona |
| 1985 | Heysel Stadium | Juventus 1-0 Liverpool |
| 1984 | Stadio Olimpico | Liverpool 1-1 Roma |
| 1983 | OAKA Stadium | Hamburg 1-0 Juventus |
| 1982 | De Kuip | Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich |
| 1981 | Parc des Princes | Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid |
| 1980 | Estadio Santiago Bernabeu | Nottingham Forest 1-0 Hamburg |
| 1979 | Olympiastadion Munich | Nottingham Forest 1-0 Malmo |
| 1978 | Wembley Stadium | Liverpool 1-0 Club Brugge |
| 1977 | Stadio Olimpico | Liverpool 3-1 Borussia Monchengladbach |
| 1976 | Hampden Park | Bayern Munich 1-0 Saint-Etienne |
| 1975 | Parc des Princes | Bayern Munich 2-0 Leeds United |
| 1974 | Heysel Stadium | Bayern Munich 1-1 Atletico Madrid |
| 1973 | Stadion Crvena Zvezda | Ajax 1-0 Juventus |
| 1972 | De Kuip | Ajax 2-0 Inter Milan |
| 1971 | Wembley Stadium | Ajax 2-0 Panathinaikos |
| 1970 | San Siro | Feyenoord 2-1 Celtic |
| 1969 | Estadio Santiago Bernabeu | AC Milan 4-1 Ajax |
| 1968 | Wembley Stadium | Manchester United 4-1 Benfica |
| 1967 | Estadio Nacional | Celtic 2-1 Inter Milan |
| 1966 | Heysel Stadium | Real Madrid 2-1 Partizan |
| 1965 | San Siro | Inter Milan 1-0 Benfica |
| 1964 | Prater Stadion | Inter Milan 3-1 Real Madrid |
| 1963 | Wembley Stadium | AC Milan 2-1 Benfica |
| 1962 | Olympisch Stadion | Benfica 5-3 Real Madrid |
| 1961 | Wankdorfstadion | Benfica 3-2 Barcelona |
| 1960 | Hampden Park | Real Madrid 7-3 Eintracht Frankfurt |
| 1959 | Neckarstadion | Real Madrid 2-0 Stade de Reims |
| 1958 | Heysel Stadium | Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan |
| 1957 | Estadio Santiago Bernabeu | Real Madrid 2-0 Fiorentina |
| 1956 | Stade Velodrome Paris | Real Madrid 4-3 Stade de Reims |
