Lisbon to host UCL mini-tournament from quarter final onwards
The city of Lisbon is set to host a Champions League mini-tournament in a bid to finally finish the delayed competition.
The final was slated to take place in Istanbul on 30 May before it was postponed indefinitely by UEFA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently the competition has only completed four round of 16 fixtures and according to BILD, the final stages of the tournament are to take place across Portugal’s capital city of Lisbon.
It’s said that Istanbul hosting without any fans in attendance will not be financially viable and so UEFA have decided that the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of Europe’s premier club competition will take place in the same city.
Moscow and Russia had expressed interest but UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is believed to have knocked the country back due to the high amount of coronavirus cases, while Germany, specifically Frankfurt, was also an option but the feeling was that it would give an advantage to the two Bundesliga sides.
According to Bild, Lisbon has won the rights to host the upcoming Champions League mini tournament (quarterfinals until final) pic.twitter.com/LQz7UA4H6x
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) June 6, 2020
Meanwhile Portugal do not have any representation in the knockout stages, their number of coronavirus case is less concerning and the city of Lisbon also has two high-quality stadiums.
Benfica’s Estadio da Luz hosted the 2014 Champions League final won by Real Madrid, while the Estádio José Alvalade – home to Sporting CP – is another Lisbon ground rated five stars by UEFA
✍️ 🗞 | Champions League 🏟 |
Lisbon has been chosen as the host for the remaining Champions League games. The city has two UEFA 5-star ranked stadiums in Estádio da Luz and Estádio José Alvalade.
No official confirmation from UEFA as of yet.
(Via BILD & CMTV 🗞) pic.twitter.com/dASUuDsCcZ
— Próxima Jornada (@ProximaJornada1) June 7, 2020
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RB Leipzig, Atalanta, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid are all through to the last eight, with four of the last 16 second still legs to be played.