PARIS • This season's Champions League, which has been suspended since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be completed via a "Final Eight" format in Lisbon in August, Uefa said yesterday.
Europe's top club competition will be decided by a series of one-off matches starting on Aug 12, with the final on Aug 23.
The Europa League will use the same format across four German cities, with the final held in Cologne on Aug 21. The Polish city of Gdansk was initially set to host the final.
A decision will be taken by July 10 as to whether the second legs of the four unfinished last-16 Champions League ties will be held at their normal venues or in Portugal, with Guimaraes and Porto available if needed.
The six unfinished second legs of the Europa League last-16 ties were not discussed, nor were the last-16 ties involving Roma-Sevilla and Getafe v Inter Milan - both legs have yet to be played.
The Champions League final was initially due to be played in Istanbul last month before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, so the Turkish city will now host next year's final instead.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals are usually held over two legs, home and away, but will now be played as single-legged ties, with games from Aug 12-15 and the semi-finals from Aug 18-19. Uefa said all matches would be split between Benfica's Estadio da Luz home, and the nearby Estadio Jose Alvalade, home of Sporting Lisbon.
Portugal's credentials to host a Champions League mini-tournament were boosted by the fact that it has not been as badly hit by the pandemic as other western European countries, and it has no clubs left in the competition.
With the European death toll from the virus easing and numerous countries earlier this week opening their borders once again to visitors, there is some hope that matches can be played in front of crowds.
However, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said no decision would be made on whether to let spectators in "until mid-July".
"If I would answer today, then we don't think we could have spectators but things are changing rapidly," he said. "We don't know if (it would be) only the local fans, if no fans, or even if fans from different clubs could travel.
"As it looks now, we would decide that we would play without fans, but we have to wait because the situation is changing every day."
Uefa also confirmed that it was sticking to its initial plan to have 12 host cities for Euro 2020, which has been postponed until June next year due to the pandemic.
The body also said the delayed play-offs, which will determine the four remaining teams who have yet to qualify for the quadrennial tournament, would be staged in October and November.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
