Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football

[citation needed] In India, the remaining I-League matches were postponed and the Indian Super League final was played behind closed doors.

[10] Owing to the surge in new COVID-19 cases, the Beijing Municipal Sports Competitions Administration Centre announced on 15 June 2020 the suspension of the 2020 CSL season.

On 9 July, it was announced that the AFC Cup would return on 23 September and conclude on 12 December, with the group stage matches to be held in centralised venues.

[15] Al Wahda were unable to travel to Qatar to play their remaining matches of the group stage due to several team members testing positive for COVID-19.

[17] The same happened with the defending champion Al-Hilal, when they failed to name the required 13 players and were unable to play their final match of the group stage against Shabab Al-Ahli due to them having only 11 players left with the remaining team members testing positive for COVID-19;[18] hence, they were also considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all their previous matches were considered "null and void", and would not be taken into consideration in determining the final group rankings.

[23] In the 2021 AFC Champions League, the three teams from Australia, Sydney FC, Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar, withdrew from the competition after the draw.

[37] Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for the disease, prompting the team's Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion for that weekend to also be postponed.

[38] As of 13 March, there has been at least one recorded case of the disease affecting a player in the aforementioned leagues; Serie A footballers Daniele Rugani and Manolo Gabbiadini, 2.

"[44] In June 2020, chairman of Premier League football side Tottenham Hotspur, Daniel Levy, revealed that the club has taken a loan of £175 million from the Bank of England.

[47] The Spanish Copa del Rey final was originally scheduled for 18 April 2020, but the match was postponed with the agreement of both participating clubs (Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad) on 11 March (with no new date decided at that point), in the hope that the delay would provide time to contain the outbreak and allow the final to take place with a full stadium as in normal circumstances.

[50] By appointing Paul Stanley, Gerald Krasner and Dean Watson from Begbies Traynor, it became the first professional club in England to call up administrators since the pandemic had begun.

[59] As part of precautions against COVID-19, Arsenal received the trophy on the pitch and not, as in previous seasons, by climbing steps to the Royal Box for the presentation.

SV Holdenstedt II who came into contact in a previous game with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, refused to reschedule the match; hence, SG Ripdorf/Molzen ll competed with only seven men for fear of infection and did not offer any resistance.

[81] On 4 October 2020, Italian club Napoli decided not to travel to Turin to play a Serie A match against Juventus, following the Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) protocol as two of their players tested positive for COVID-19 along with a staff member.

[82] On 14 October, Juventus were awarded a 3–0 win, and Napoli were deducted 1 point by the Disciplinary Commission as punishment for violating the FIGC COVID-19 protocol approved by the Technical-Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Health regarding the activity of professional athletes.

[83] On 22 December, the CONI Guarantee Board, overturned the previous decision of the competition judge, accepting the appeal presented by Napoli against the defeat by default and the point deduction and stating that the match must be played.

The competition was initially supposed to be held in Saudi Arabia like the previous year, but restrictions related to the global COVID-19 pandemic forced it to remain in Spain.

The match was initially supposed to be held in December in Saudi Arabia like the previous year, but restrictions related to the global COVID-19 pandemic forced it to remain in Italy.

[97] On 30 March 2021, UEFA announced that both Champions League quarter-final matches on 7 and 13 April between FC Porto and Chelsea would be played at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Seville, Spain, due to travel restrictions between Portugal and the United Kingdom.

[105][106] Other December 2021 group stage Champions League matches played without spectators due to COVID-19 restrictions in their respective countries were AFC Ajax vs.

[131] On 29 July, the Canadian Premier League announced a return to play on 13 August with a modified format called "The Island Games" to determine a 2020 champion.

[133] In addition, the Copa Sudamericana have been suspended after first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to be resumed on 27 October 2020, with the final rescheduled to be played in late January 2021.

However, OFC's representatives Auckland City withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities.

[156] However, on 31 December 2021, Auckland City withdrew from the competition due to delayed reopening of the borders in New Zealand related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the reintroduction of the mandatory managed isolation and quarantine system upon returning to the country.

[161] Concerns were raised regarding UEFA Euro 2020, being held in twelve host cities across Europe, and the potential impact of the coronavirus on players, staff and tournament visitors.

[165] On 23 April 2021, UEFA announced that Seville (La Cartuja) would replace Bilbao as tournament host, while the matches of Dublin (Aviva Stadium) would be reallocated to Saint Petersburg for the group stage and London for the round of 16.

[168] On 21 April 2020, the Oceania Football Confederation announced that due to the pandemic and the difficulty in rescheduling to another date in the FIFA International Match Calendar, the 2020 OFC Nations Cup would be cancelled.

[169] In the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, two matches: Romania v Norway and Switzerland v Ukraine, were cancelled due to positive tests in the Norwegian and Ukrainian team respectively.

[173] Two National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I members announced that they had eliminated their men's soccer teams effective immediately.

[175] List of affected top-flight football leagues: This article incorporates text by Leonardo José Mataruna-Dos-Santos, Pedro da Gama Roberto de Albuquerque, Gabriel de Almeida Vasconcellos, Rodrigo Mendonça do Nascimento, Nadine Tonelli Cavalari, Daniel Range, Andressa Fontes Guimarães-Mataruna, and Bianca Ortiz-Silva available under the CC BY 4.0 license.