Coronavirus: UEFA to produce qualification guidelines in cases of cancelled leagues

The UEFA Champions League logo

UEFA is to produce guidelines outlining qualification criteria for its competitions from domestic leagues that cannot be completed but once again recommended they should be finished if possible.

The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc with the footballing schedule, with the 2019-20 season suspended indefinitely across the majority of Europe, which resulted in Euro 2020 being pushed back by a year.

Both the Champions League and Europa League finals were postponed in March after it became apparent hosting them on their original dates was not feasible.

As yet there is no concrete date set for the resumption of a suspended European league, while UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin conceded the campaign would likely be lost if seasons cannot resume by the end of June.

In a video conference with its 55 member nations on Tuesday, UEFA said any decisions taken will be announced after the executive committee convenes on Thursday.

A statement read: "UEFA met its 55 member associations via video conference and presented an update of the options being looked into by the two working groups that were created mid-March. 

"A variety of calendar options were presented covering both national team and club competition matches.

"The funding of national associations through UEFA's HatTrick programme was also discussed with UEFA reiterating its commitment to meeting the payments to member associations as planned.

"There was a strong recommendation given to finish domestic top divisions and cup competitions, but some special cases will be heard once guidelines concerning participation to European competitions - in case of a cancelled league - have been developed."