UEFA have held a video conference with all 55 secretaries of the member football associations this afternoon to discuss a number of football-related topics as the Coronavirus crisis continues to disrupt the European game.
FA Women’s Super League Full-Time have assessed the statement issued by UEFA on their website and here is how we believe today’s announcement may now impact Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
UEFA have announced that their ‘competition matches’ remain postponed until further notice. This is understood to include the men’s UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The UEFA Women’s Champions League has not been mentioned specifically, however, it is thought to fall in the same bracket. This potentially means that Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League dream is set to continue with their quarter-final ties against Paris Saint-Germain still to be rescheduled for when it is safe to play rather than be cancelled.
European football’s governing body seem set to complete their current competitions regardless of how long this will take. UEFA had set a deadline of 30 June for this season’s club competitions to be completed but no further deadline has been mentioned in this afternoon’s statement, possibly indicating that the 2019/2020 UEFA Women’s Champions League could recommence later this year.
Manchester City and Chelsea currently occupy the top two positions in this season’s FA Women’s Super League table. There have been concerns that the competition could be declared void, potentially causing issues such as whether the two leading clubs would admitted to next season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League. The pressure may have just eased a little on The Football Association’s decision making window with UEFA postponing deadlines for next season’s club competitions, specifically surrounding qualifying clubs being admitted to tournaments and player registrations. Relaxed UEFA deadlines could offer additional time for the completion of the FA Women’s Super League with next season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League seemingly set to start at a later date than expected. In the cases of Manchester City and Chelsea, they will certainly be keen to complete the season and qualify for Europe on merit should they see off the threat of third-placed Arsenal.
A further video conference with member nations is expected to be scheduled by UEFA in due course.
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