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13.04.2020 » What future for the Champions League amid the COVID-19 pandemic?
Due to the worldwide pandemic situation that occurred with the outbreak of the coronavirus, the whole world stopped in hopes of getting better. So, on March 13th, the Champions League has also been frozen and many people are wondering when will it continue... Since then, football became a secondary thought after the measures taken to combat the spread of the virus were taken. Major European leagues like the Serie A where Cristiano Ronaldo competes were suspended, while betting companies in Kenya, Nigeria, UK, Spain, Italy and other football-loving regions are seeing rapid drops in profits. It's impossible to accurately predict the date when the Champions League continues, but there are some signs that show a possible path.
UEFA Champions League - Cristiano Ronaldo's best goal ever:
The current situation
On March 17th, UEFA hosted a video where they postponed Euro 2020 to 2021, which means that the leagues from Europe will have the ability to continue during the summer if the virus gets contained. During the conference, they implied that their desire is for both the Europa League and the Champions League to be finished by June 30.
Their intentions and desires however, are yet it to be confirmed. The virus is still spreading fast in many places around the world and rushing the process could end up allowing the virus to attack again in the upcoming months.
Ronaldo and his club Juventus had already qualified for the last-16 round of the competition and just like every other club who got to the knockout rounds, they had big hopes for getting their hands on the trophy. For Ronaldo, winning the Champions League for the Vecchia Signora would be massive, as he would become the second player ever to win the competition for 3 different clubs (the first one was Clarence Seedorf).
Possible scenarios
According to UEFA, there are 7 scenarios in play at the moment. The first starting date was supposed to be April 14th whilst the last is June 13th. Additionally, the final match of the Europa League is envisioned for June 24th whilst the Champions League, the final is to be played on June 27th.
With the current situation, it is quite clear that the leagues won't start on April 14th since there are a lot of factors in play. For example, some or even all matches might be played without the audience but still, some countries don't allow people to travel which would make planning harder. Therefore, the starting date will probably occur in May. That would also mean a sudden increase in live betting, once the matches are up and running again.
Additionally, one of the options states that instead of two-legged format, a one-legged would be used thus significantly reducing the number of played matches. This is a highly possible solution but it also means that a lot of clubs would have a substantial advantage over other ones. Therefore, neutral places would be the solution but in those cases, it would mean that some countries would need to be willing to accept numerous people from other countries which might be problematic with the pandemic situation.
There is also a possibility of a mini-tournament for the semi-finals and the final game. There are a lot of possible solutions but they are all subject to the current conditions. Therefore, stay tuned with us and we will inform you of new changes that UEFA makes as the virus spreads and hopefully, soon, stops.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus in the Serie A is on April 4, against Torino. You can watch Juventus vs Torino, Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid, Sevilla vs Barcelona, Brighton vs Manchester United, Arsenal vs Norwich City, and Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich, all matches provided from our live football game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs Torino kick-off time (04-04-2020):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 03:45
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 02:45
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 01:15
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:45
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 16:45
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 15:45
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 12:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / uefa.com / nytimes.com
