UEFA set to switch Champions League final to Lisbon, Poland to lose Europa League final to Germany

UEFA set to switch Champions League final to Lisbon

On Wednesday, June 17, UEFA’s executive committee are scheduled to meet for a decisive session.

UEFA still need to determine how to finish this season’s Champions League and Europa League.

Aside from scaling back the amount of games remaining in each competition, there’s also been plenty of recent discussion about moving the venues for the finals.

The Champions League final was supposed to be held in Istanbul, Turkey. However, the Turks now want UEFA to confirm that’s not going to happen.

In recent days Madrid had begun a PR campaign to convince UEFA to move the Champions League final to the city.

Madrid’s mayor has said the Spanish capital is in talks about hosting this year’s Champions League final if organisers decide to move it from Istanbul due to the coronavirus pandemic.

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 9, 2020

However, the Times on Monday confidently predict that the 2019-20 Champions League final will be held in Lisbon, Portugal:

A mini tournament for the climax of the Champions League is set to be held in Lisbon.

The plan, which is due to be confirmed by Uefa this week, would result in clubs involved in the quarter-finals onwards being based in Portugal… in August.

Uefa will conclude its leading competitions by hosting mini tournaments in different cities, reports @martynziegler

Champions League: Lisbon
Women’s Champions League: Bilbao
Europa League: Germany, with the city to be confirmed https://t.co/MvxlIMyMBp

— Times Sport (@TimesSport) June 14, 2020

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Manchester City & Chelsea

Two Premier League clubs are still in the Champions League.

Man City are in pole position to reach the quarterfinals following a 2-1 away win at Real Madrid in their last-16, first leg.

Chelsea, by contrast, need a miracle to remain in the competition after Bayern Munich won 3-0 in London.

 

Why Turkey are backing out & how UEFA will compensate them

A note on the Turkish decision to back out of hosting the Champions League final.

Two reasons have been presented for this decision.

The New York Times has claimed that Turkey are unable to fulfil their obligations due to their issues controlling the coronavirus:

The Champions League final, one of sport’s most-watched annual events, will not be held at its planned site, Istanbul, amid the ongoing crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

⚽️ This year’s Champions League final to be moved from Istanbul.
⚽️ Uefa will finalise new plans for tournament at a meeting on June 17.

via @NYTimeso https://t.co/MjkVpsuWlV

— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) May 29, 2020

However, according to Times reporter Martyn Ziegler, Turkey’s decision to pull the plug on the final is mainly about money:

It is understood that the absence of visiting fans meant there was little appetite in Turkey for the mini-tournament to be held in Istanbul, as the country had hoped to use the final as a big tourism drive.

UEFA will also compensate Turkey for losing the final by offering them the right to host the 2024 showpiece.

The next three years’ venues have already been decided: St Petersburg in 2021, Munich in 2022 and Wembley Stadium in 2023.

 

Poland to lose Europa League final to Germany

In a surprising announcement, the Times also reveal that the Europa League final is also likely to move cities too.

The 2019-20 Europa League final had been set to be played in Gdansk, Poland.

However, UEFA are looking to move the final to Germany instead. The Times confirm:

The Europa League mini-tournament is likely to be held in Frankfurt, with Dusseldorf another option.

 

Why are Poland losing the Europa League final & will they be compensated too?

It’s currently unclear if Poland have asked UEFA to move the final, or whether this decision has come from UEFA instead.

The Times also fail to note whether UEFA will award a future final to Gandsk if the Europa League final does indeed move to Germany.

 

Man United, Wolves & Rangers

Three UK clubs are still in the hat in the Europa League.

Man United are on course to reach the quarter-finals following a 5-0 win against LASK Linz in their last-16 first-leg in Austria.

As for Wolves, they are scheduled to host Greek side Olympiacos at Molineux in the UEL. Wolves drew 1-1 in the away leg.

Lastly, Steven Gerrard’s Rangers have a tough job on their hands to reach the final eight following a 3-1 defeat at Ibrox against Bayer Leverkusen in their last-16 first-leg.

 

Also see: Manchester United set to drop Paul Pogba against Tottenham.

Wilfried Zaha addresses the rumour about David Moyes’s daughter from his time at Manchester United.

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