UEFA plans to start the first qualifying rounds of the Champions League and Europa League in August. The group stage is due to start at the end of October, the president of the European Football Association, Aleksander Ceferin, announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
The Uefa executive committee met on Wednesday to discuss the end of the current season in the Champions League and Europa League. In addition, dates have been set for the most important European club competitions to start next season.
UEFA plans to start the first qualifying rounds of the Champions League and Europa League at the end of August. The first group games are scheduled for the third week of October.
Due to the busy games, all preliminary round matches in the Champions League and Europa League are decided on one match. Only the encounters in the playoffs are about two games.
AZ in action in August
Az, number two in the last Eredivisie season, will start in the second qualifying round of the Champions League and will have to play their first matches at the end of August. Paid football is banned in the Netherlands until 1 September, so it is currently impossible for az to play.
PSV and Willem II will soon advance to the Europa League, but will not start until September. Feyenoord are already confident of taking part in the group stage of the second most important European club tournament.
Ajax are directly qualified for the group stage of the Champions League but will depend on the winner this season. If the winner of the million-ball also qualifies for the competition, Ajax are sure to be in the group stage.
The current Champions League season will conclude in August with a tournament in Lisbon, where the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals will be completed. The Europa League will be concluded in Germany this month.