This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
European rugby's top clubs are bracing for a major change in their competition schedule, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast a shadow over the sport. On July 9, 2020, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) announced that the Champions Cup final, originally set to take place in Marseille, would be relocated due to concerns over the spread of the virus.
The French port city was initially scheduled to host the re-arranged final on October 17, 2020, following the second-tier Challenge Cup final. However, with tens of thousands of fans expected to travel to the south of France, the EPCR and local organizing committee deemed the current public health safeguards insufficient to stage the high-profile matches at the 67,000-capacity Stade Vélodrome.
“With insufficient safeguards in place during the public health crisis, the Board of EPCR and the local organizing committee have agreed that it is not feasible to stage two high-profile matches at the 67,000-capacity Stade Vélodrome,” the EPCR statement explained.
As a result, the EPCR is working with its shareholder leagues and unions to secure an alternative venue or venues for the two finals, which will be played on the weekend of October 16-18, 2020. Details of the new venues will be announced as soon as possible.
The EPCR has confirmed that Marseille will host the 2021 finals at Stade Velodrome on May 21-22, with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London staging the 2022 finals. The truncated competition will resume as planned with the quarter-finals on September 18-20, with the semi-finals the following weekend. Venues for those matches will be announced as soon as possible.
