UEFA gives European leagues May 25 deadline for restart plans

UEFA gives European football leagues until May 25 to give plans for restarting domestic competitions.

SHOWS: NYON, SWITZERLAND (FILE - DECEMBER 4, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1.

VARIOUS OF UEFA FLAGS OUTSIDE HEADQUARTERS 2.

EXTERIOR OF UEFA HEADQUARTERS 3.

UEFA PRESIDENT, ALEKSANDER CEFERIN SHAKING JOURNALISTS' HANDS AS HE LEAVES ROOM NYON, SWITZERLAND (FILE - MARCH 4, 2016) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 4.

UEFA LOGO ON WALL 5.

WALL WITH EUROPEAN STATE MEMBERS AND UEFA LOGO 6.

UEFA LOGO ON WALL 7.

EXTERIOR OF UEFA HEADQUARTERS ISTANBUL, TURKEY (FILE - MARCH 24, 2013) (REUTERS- ACCESS ALL) 8.

VARIOUS INTERIORS OF ATATURK OLYMPIC STADIUM - THE VENUE FOR THE 2020 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL 9.

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VARIOUS INTERIORS OF STADIUM 11.

VARIOUS OF INTERNATIONAL OLYMPICS COMMITTEE EVALUATION COMMISSION INSIDE STADIUM STORY: European football leagues have been given a May 25 deadline to inform governing body UEFA of their plans to restart their domestic competitions.

Soccer has ground to a halt in all major leagues in Europe and none have yet to resume.

But UEFA is keen to start planning for next season's European club tournaments.

In a letter to the 55 federations in UEFA, president Aleksander Ceferin wrote that any league cancelling its season would need to produce a list of teams that have qualified for European club competitions, also by May 25.

The sport has been brought to a standstill by the pandemic, with the Euro 2020 competition postponed until next year and both national leagues and continental club competitions on hold.

UEFA has made it clear that it wants its member associations to complete their domestic seasons rather than abandon them.

It also hopes to finish the Champions League and Europa League competitions.

While leagues such as the German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and English Premier League say they want to finish their seasons, the Dutch Eredivisie cut short its season on Friday and said there would be no title awarded and no relegations or promotions - a decision strongly criticised by some of the affected clubs.

(Production: Kurt Michael Hall)