Champions League: towards a Final Four in July-August? UEFA thinks about it
At a standstill with the coronavirus pandemic, the Champions League could resume in a new format and in midsummer.
If the footballers are reduced to containment, the decision makers do not cease exchanging, meeting and imagining the continuation of the operations. Especially about the biggest and most lucrative club competition: the Champions League. The latest protrusion from UEFA representatives – eager to put pressure on the various championships so that the seasons resume and end once the deconfinement has been validated – attests to a fierce desire to also conclude the C1 exercise. Business is business. No matter the cost. If health decisions allow it too. To achieve this, all the hypotheses are put at the center of the debates. And one draws attention, the establishment of a Final Four to choose the winner.
The idea, copied from certain sports such as basketball in the Euroleague, would be to bring the four semi-finalists together in one place for the semi-finals and the final, over a reduced period of time. President of the Spanish federation and present around the discussion table, Luis Rubiales has said more about this possible possibility. “Nothing is excluded, whether in camera or not. What we need to do is find a healthy solution. Everyone wants the tournament to end, but only if we can guarantee that we will be completely protected. The Final Four is part of the options because the more we continue like this, the fewer dates will be available. You have to have imagination. ” Scheduled for May 30 in Istanbul, the final of the Champions League is logically postponed for the moment, without a new date having been set. “We are all looking for solutions and when the time is right, the executive committee will vote with the leagues. Everything will be voted, ”attests the Spanish leader.
For the moment, an outright cancellation of the competition seems unthinkable after the various signals sent by the thinking heads of UEFA. Remains an unknown, known to all, no one today is able to set a resumption date for the different championships, most of them suspended until further notice. “We are convinced that football will be able to restart in the coming months, respecting conditions which will be dictated by the public authorities, and believe that any decision to abandon national competitions is, at this stage, premature and not justified”, wrote in particular the president of the European authority Aleksander Ceferin in an offensive letter and with a clear message. The negotiations are just beginning.
In camera, no problem for UEFA
In an interview with the German channel ZDF, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin announced that he wanted the Champions League and the Europa League to end in August: “July and August seem to me to be a favorable period to complete our European competitions. However, finishing these two competitions in September and October would undoubtedly be too late. ” As for the configuration of the matches, he adds: “Matches behind closed doors or with supporters are not at all the same thing, but it is always better behind closed doors and in front of the television than nothing at all. This is what people want, it would bring them positive energy in this complicated period. “
