OFFICIAL: UEFA confirms Champions League restart date & unique format after Covid-19 hiatus

UEFA have confirmed the details of the Champions League’s restart in August and unique format of this season’s edition of the showpiece club tournament, as it gets set to return from its coronavirus-enforced break.

After a videoconference held on Wednesday to discuss the competition, which has been postponed since March owing to the outbreak of Covid-19, the European football governing body announced its decision at a live Executive Committee chaired by its president Aleksander Ceferin.

The remaining round of 16 ties will be played on August 7-8 at venues to be determined, before the quarterfinals (August 12-15), semi-finals (August 18-19) and final (August 23) all take place in Lisbon, Portugal.

“The 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be played as a single straight knockout tournament in Lisbon, Portugal in August. All these ties will be single-leg fixtures," read a UEFA statement. 

"A decision is pending on whether the four remaining round of 16 second legs will take place at the home team’s stadium or in Portugal.

"The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be split between Benfica’s Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Sporting CP’s Estádio José Alvalade.

"The Estádio do Dragão in Porto and the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães will host the four outstanding round of 16 second legs if required.”

Originally scheduled to hold the final this year, the city of Istanbul will have its hosting duties moved to 2021 while Russia's St Petersburg hosts in 2022.

As for the Europa League, this season's quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will also be contested in a one-game knockout format, in their case in Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen from August 10 to 21.

On September 24, the winners of each competition will meet in Budapest to contest the Super Cup.