The 2020–21 UEFA Youth League was scheduled to be the eighth season of the
UEFA Youth League, a European youth club
football competition organised by
UEFA.
As in previous years, the final tournament, consisting of the semi-finals and final, would originally have been played at the
Colovray Stadium in
Nyon, Switzerland; however, due to the continuing
COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the format of the competition was changed to a straight knockout tournament starting from 2 March 2021.[1] On 17 February 2021, the UEFA Executive Committee cancelled the tournament.[2]
Teams
A total of 64 teams from at least 32 of the 55
UEFA member associations could enter the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League. They were split into two sections, each with 32 teams:[3]
UEFA Champions League Path: The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualified for the
2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage entered the UEFA Champions League Path. If there was a vacancy (youth teams not entering), it was filled by a team defined by UEFA.
Domestic Champions Path: The youth domestic champions (U17, U18 or U19) of the top 32 associations according to their 2019
UEFA country coefficients entered the Domestic Champions Path.[4] If there was a vacancy (associations with no youth domestic competition, as well as youth domestic champions already included in the UEFA Champions League path), it was first filled by the title holders should they had not yet qualified, and then by the youth domestic champions of the next association in the UEFA ranking.
In early April 2020, UEFA announced that due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline for entering the tournament had been postponed until further notice.[5]
All Domestic Champions Path teams in italics were declared champions or selected to play by the national association following an abandoned season due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, and were subject to approval by UEFA as per the guidelines for entry to European competitions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
Associations without any participating teams (no teams qualify for UEFA Champions League group stage, and either with no youth domestic competition or not ranked high enough for a vacancy)
Austria (AUT): The 2019–20 Jugendliga U18 was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Austria.[17] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Red Bull Salzburg, had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League Path via play-offs, so no team was selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Austrian Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.
Belgium (BEL): The 2019–20 Belgian U18 League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.[20] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Genk (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Royal Belgian Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.[21]
Croatia (CRO): The 2019–20 1. HNL Juniori U19 was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia.[22] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team,
Dinamo Zagreb, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Croatian Football Federation in the Domestic Champions Path.[23]
Cyprus (CYP): The 2019–20 Cypriot U19 League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus.[24] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
APOEL, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Cyprus Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.[25]
England (ENG): The 2019–20 U18 Premier League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in England.[28] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team,
Manchester City (who were declared champions), had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League Path, so no team was selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.[29]
France (FRA): The 2019–20
Championnat National U19 was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in France.[30] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment based on the average number of points per matches played for each team,
Angers, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
French Football Federation in the Domestic Champions Path.[31]
Germany (GER): The 2019–20 U19 A-Junioren-Bundesliga was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.[32] The winner of a draw among the top teams of the three divisions at the time of the abandonment,
1. FC Köln, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
German Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.[33]
Greece (GRE): The 2019–20 Superleague K19 was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Greece. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
PAOK (who were already assured of the title by then and were declared champions),[34] were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Hellenic Football Federation in the Domestic Champions Path.[35]
Hungary (HUN): The 2019–20 Hungarian U19 League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Győri ETO, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Hungarian Football Federation in the Domestic Champions Path.[36]
Israel (ISR): The 2019–20 Israeli Noar Premier League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Israel.[37] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Maccabi Haifa (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Israel Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.[38]
Italy (ITA): The 2019–20 U19 Campionato Primavera 1 was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.[39] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Atalanta (who were declared champions), had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League Path, so no team was selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Italian Football Federation in the Domestic Champions Path.[40]
Netherlands (NED): The 2019–20 Eredivisie U19 was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
AZ, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Royal Dutch Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.[43]
Poland (POL): The 2019–20 Polish U18 Central Junior League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Górnik Zabrze (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Polish Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.[46]
Portugal (POR): The 2019–20 Campeonato Nacional Juniores S19 was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal.[47] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Benfica, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Portuguese Football Federation in the Domestic Champions Path.
Russia (RUS):The 2019–20 Russian Youth Football League U17 was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Russia.[48] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Chertanovo Moscow (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020-21 UEFA Youth League by the
Russian Football Union in the Domestic Champions Path.[49]
Scotland (SCO): The 2019–20 Scottish U18 League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Rangers, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Scottish Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.[50]
Serbia (SRB): The 2019–20 Serbian U19 League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia.[51] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Red Star Belgrade (who were declared champions), were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Football Association of Serbia in the Domestic Champions Path.[52]
Slovakia (SVK): The 2019–20 Slovak U19 League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia.[53] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Žilina, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Slovak Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.
Switzerland (SUI): The 2019–20 Swiss U18 League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland.[58] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Basel, were selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Swiss Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path.
Ukraine (UKR): The 2019–20 Ukrainian U19 League was abandoned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine.[61] The top team of the league at the time of the abandonment,
Dynamo Kyiv (who were declared champions), had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League Path via play-offs, so no team was selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League by the
Ukrainian Association of Football in the Domestic Champions Path.[62]
Squads
Players had to be born on or after 1 January 2002, with a maximum of five players born between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2001 allowed in the 40-player squad, and a maximum of three of these players allowed per each match.[3]
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was planned as follows (all draws were planned to be held at the UEFA headquarters in
Nyon, Switzerland).[1][7] The tournament would have originally started in September 2020, but was initially delayed to October due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, which caused the group stage of the
2020–21 UEFA Champions League to be postponed. However, due to the continuing pandemic in Europe, UEFA announced a new format on 24 September 2020. Instead of a group stage in the UEFA Champions League Path and two-legged ties in the Domestic Champions Path, all rounds would have been played as single-legged knockout matches.[63]
The schedule of the competition announced in June 2020, under the original format, was planned as follows (all draws were planned to be held at the UEFA headquarters in
Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).
Schedule for 2020–21 UEFA Youth League (original format)
The draw for the round of 64 was held on 27 January 2021 (12:00
CET for UEFA Champions League Path and 12:25
CET for Domestic Champions Path).[64] The 32 teams from the UEFA Champions League Path and the 32 teams from the Domestic Champions Path were split, and in both paths, there were no seedings, but UEFA divided the teams in each path into four groups of eight teams, which would be drawn separately. The first team drawn in each tie would have been the home team. Teams from the same association in the UEFA Champions League Path could not be drawn against each other, and based on political restrictions, teams from Russia and Ukraine could not be drawn against each other.
The draw for the round of 32 would have been held on 12 March 2021 (morning).[65] The 16 winners of the round of 64 from the UEFA Champions League Path and the 16 winners of the round of 64 from the Domestic Champions Path are split, and in both paths, there are no seedings. Teams from the same association in the UEFA Champions League Path cannot be drawn against each other.
The matches would have been played on 6 and 7 April 2021.
Round of 16
The draw for the round of 16 onwards would have been held on 12 March 2021 (afternoon).[66] The eight winners of the round of 32 from the UEFA Champions League Path and the eight winners of the round of 32 from the Domestic Champions Path, whose identity is not known at the time of draw, would have been combined starting from the round of 16.
The matches would have been played on 20 and 21 April 2021.
Quarter-finals
The matches would have been played on 4 and 5 May 2021.
Semi-finals
The matches would have been played on 17 May 2021 at the
Colovray Stadium,
Nyon.