Who is to say for sure what are the prospects for sports competitions in the coming months? All bets are off, still, it is interesting to take stock of the situation at the start of this fall:
Football
The 5 major championships have resumed and are taking place in stadiums largely devoid of audiences. The discipline’s most notorious competition, the Champions League (whose draw is scheduled on October 1st, 2020) is due ending on May 29, 2021 in Istanbul, the city that should have hosted the competition in 2020.
Additionally, the main feature of European national football, the Euro has been postponed from June 11 to July 11, 2021 in the 12 cities initially planned. Several of the countries involved are currently closed or apply quarantine restrictions between each others (Russia, Azerbaijan, United Kingdom, etc.) and the already complex organization of this event will probably turn out to be a major challenge for stakeholders.
Rugby
While no champion was crowned in 2019/2020, the 2020/2021 French championship has recently started, albeit with it share of problems. The English on the other hand have chosen to resume the current championship.
Regarding the European Cups, the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup have resumed their course in order to achieve the 2019/2020 editions. The finals will take place on October 16, 17 or 18, 2020 at a location to be determined.
For 2020/2021 the format is changing for the 2 competitions to take into account the truncated 2019/2020 championships and the finals will take place on May 21 and 22, 2021 in Marseille
Internationally, the situation remains blurry, as interests diverge between professional leagues and national federations. 5 or 6 matches will be played from 24 October to 06 December as part of the late matches of the 6 nations and the Autumn Cup.
The 2020/2021 6 Nations tournament is currently scheduled for February and March 2021, as usual.
Handball
The main championships resume at the end of September.
2 international deadlines are scheduled:
Regarding women, the European Women’s Handball Championship is to take place in Norway and Denmark from December 3 to 20.
The men will face off from January 14 to 31, 2021 in Egypt, home of the handball World Cup and a major handball nation.
Basketball
In France, the Jeep Elite Championship will resume on September 23.
While the 2019/2020 Euroleague has not been completed, the 2020/2021 Euroleague’s Final Four tournament is set to take place in Cologne from May 28 to 31, 2021.
Only one international competition is planned for 2021, and this is the Women’s EuroBasket which is due to happen in France and Spain from June 17 to 27, 2021.
Olympic Games
Obviously, the big event scheduled for summer 2021 is the postponement of the Tokyo Summer Olympics, rescheduled from July-August 2020 to the next year.
Organized from July 23 to August 08, 2021, they have as of now benefited from a complete postponement of all events and a confirmation of the competition venues. It remains to be seen how the health bubble will be operated, and whether or not audiences will be invited in Japan.
Of course, many more competitions are planned and many twists are yet to be expected.
In this climate of uncertainty, VPI is here to help its customers organize their trips and secure the conditions in which they may take place. Contact us to let us know your needs so we come up with innovative solutions together.
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