As the Champions League prepares to resume its season, UEFA is looking for a host city and it is eyeing Lisbon.
UEFA is planning to resume its Champions League season with a mini-tournament. Now, the organization is looking into three cities to be the possible host. Word around the community is that Lisbon, Portugal is among the top contenders.
The development so far
German newspaper Bild first broke the news that UEFA is working on a possible mini-tournament. The plan is to resume the season through a localized system. Istanbul was supposed to host the finals last month, but was later cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sources with insider knowledge of the plan claim that UEFA is looking into contingency plans. While Istanbul is still under consideration, the organization is also looking into Germany and Portugal. With Turkey under strict lockdown, it will most probably come down to the latter two.
Lisbon is widely regarded as a possible host. The city is home to two modern stadiums: Estadio Jose Alvalade and Estadio da Luz. The former is the home for Portuguese club Benfica, while the latter is home for Sporting CP.
🔴 #OTD in 2011, Jordan Henderson joined Liverpool. The rest is history. 🏆#UCL | @LFC | @JHenderson pic.twitter.com/jZDNnRbg3q
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 9, 2020
The two stadiums are just 5km apart and is more than capable of handling a mini-tournament. Most importantly, Estadio da Luz is where Real Madrin won the Champions League finals in 2014 against Atletico Madrid.
Portugal is also starting to ease down its lockdown restrictions. This is important since many major football cities are still in strict lockdown. Moreover, top-tier football has resumed in Lisbon following the COVID-19 lockdown
How the season will close
Before the lockdown, the UEFA Champions League is already on its post-season. The league HAS already played a handful of round-of-16 matches, with just a few more left. Furthermore, four clubs were qualified for the quarterfinals: Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, and Paris Saint-Germain.
There are still four matches left in the round-of-16. These matches are: Bayern Munich v. Chelsea, Real Madrid v. Manchester United, Barcelona v. Napoli, and Juventus v. Lyon.
UEFA is set to make the final decision about this matter when top officials will convene before the end of the month. As for local Lisbon authorities, Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida has thrown his support for the proposal.
On similar news, the Spanish city of Madrid is looking to place its bid to host the EUFA Champions League final. With Spain as one of the most affected countries of the coronavirus, some say that the city has a slim chance.
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