Uefa confident of finishing European season by August


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There is real hope that the 2019-20 European season will be finished by August, with plans to restart both the Uefa Champions League and Europa League campaigns in the near future. 
 
That is according to the European soccer governing body's president Aleksander Ceferin who would've kept a close eye on the German Bundesliga's return this past weekend. 
 
The majority of European league seasons were suspended in March due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and although some leagues have cancelled their respective campaigns - including in France, Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands were the 2019/20 Eredivise season was simply deemed null and void - there remains hope that the continental seasons will be played to a conclusion. 

"We have an idea but we have to wait for the executive committee of Uefa to confirm the dates. I can say that the European season will be finished, if everything is as it is now, in August," Ceferin told beIN Sports.

"As things look now, I'm sure... that we can finish the European season and this means Uefa competition.

"I think the majority of leagues will finish the season. The ones who will not, it's their decision. But they will still have to play qualifiers if they want to participate in the European Uefa competition."
 
The English Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A are aiming to resume action in mid-June and with all three countries having been amongst the worst hit by the virus, a return to football does come as a boost in what will be a long process to normality. 
 
Liverpool currently hold a 25-point lead atop the English Premier League standings and at one point there were real fears that their three decade wait for a top-flight title would be cruelly extended by the infectious disease, but those fears seem to be something of the past and head coach Jurgen Klopp feels that the time has become for football to make a return. 
 
"I always said we don’t want to rush anything, but I don’t think it is rushed. I hope that we are now in England on the right side of the thing. It's all about when – but you need to re-open different parts of life again," Klopp told Liverpool's website.



"Everybody agrees about that. I think the way how we do it now with the Premier League, it’s now a good moment to do it for the football teams."

"From a personal point of view I can say it’s a massive boost."
 

Published: 05/26/2020