UEFA Suspends UCL, UEL & Euro 2020 Qualifying Playoffs Indefinitely
European soccer's governing body announced on Wednesday that the Champions League, Europa League and a number of other major tournaments will be postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak
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UEFA has announced that the federation has decided to push back a series of Euro 2020 play-off matches that were set to be held in June.
The federation's decision comes as the latest step taken in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has all but shut down most of the football world.
Most of the world's leagues have been suspended as a result of the outbreak, and plenty of uncertainty remains when it comes to the potential return date of professional football.
As a result of the uncertainty surrounding club and international football, UEFA had previously announced that Euro 2020 would be pushed back a year in the wake of the virus as part of the federation's proposals to combat the scheduling issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The competition was originally set to be played in various cities across the continent and was set to get underway on June 12, 2020, but it rapidly became clear that such an event was not feasible given the circumstances.
Additionally, the 2021 Nations League Finals, which was supposed to be staged in June 2021, is being pencilled in for the following September.
Originally, a series of play-offs that were cancelled during the March international break were scheduled to be played in June, as 16 teams battled for the final four spots in the summer tournament.
However, UEFA confirmed that those matches will now be pushed back indefinitely as the scope of the coronavirus pandemic has become more clear.
The federation also confirmed that qualifying matches for Women’s Euro 2021 have been pushed back while the U-17 and U-19 Euros have been cancelled altogether.
However, the men's U-19 Euros and women's U-17 Euros that were set for this summer have been postponed as the two competitions serve as qualifiers for World Cup competitions.
Deadlines related to the registration of players for next season's Champions League have also been postponed with UEFA stating that the federation would set new deadlines in due course.
