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UEFA approves ‘special rules’ relating to club competitions
The Union of European Football Associations’ Executive Committee has approved new rules for 2020/21 club competitions in relation to COVID-19.
The rules cover venue and country restrictions, testing and player eligibility, the completion of the qualifying phase and play-offs and deadlines for protests and appeals. The regulations apply to the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League and 2020/21 UEFA Europa League.
UEFA has decided that if restrictions in a home club’s nation will affect the visiting team then the home club will need to find a different venue. The venue may be in another country where restrictions will not apply to the participating teams.
Clubs that do not find a suitable alternative venue will be held accountable by UEFA for the match not being played and will forfeit the match as a 3-0 loss.
A minimum of 13 players on a club’s A list need to be available (having tested negative for COVID-19 or not being required to go into quarantine) for the match to be played. At least one goalkeeper needs to be apart of the 13 available players.
UEFA said that they may allow for matches to be rescheduled if less than 13 players are available. However, if the match cannot be rescheduled, the club that had less than the required number of players available will forfeit the match and will recorded a 3-0 loss.
“If one or more players or officials of a club test positive for COVID-19 in the tests required by the UEFA Return to Play Protocol, the match will take place as scheduled unless the national/local authorities of one or both clubs involved or of where the match will take place (in case of a neutral country) require a large group of players or the entire team to go into quarantine,” UEFA said in the Annex I – Special rules applicable to the qualifying phase and play-offs due to COVID-19 release.
“UEFA will publish before each draw the list of known travel restrictions between countries, e.g. border closures and quarantine requirements.
“By 24:00 CET two days prior to the relevant draw clubs must – after consultation with their respective national association and national/local authorities – inform in writing the UEFA administration whether such known restrictions apply or if other previously unknown restrictions have been imposed by their respective national/local authorities that would impact the clubs’ travelling.”
The 2019/20 UEFA Champions League restarts on August 8.
In a statement on their website last Thursday, Melbourne Victory revealed the Arden Campus, situated within Melbourne’s new Arden Central parkland precinct, as the latest stage of its ongoing infrastructure strategy.
The news follows Victory’s February 2025 announcement of it’s first campus in Beveridge, with each seeking to cater to growing demographics within the city’s CBD and inner north-west suburbs.
The latest campus sits within the new cultural precinct centred around Arden Station, as part of a $7 billion redevelopment project helmed by Hamton and HostPlus on behalf of the Victorian Government.
Developers Hamton and HostPlus share a 17-year history of joint venture partnerships, which include a portfolio of large-scale, complex urban projects.
Victory is joined by other major precinct partners Live Nation, North Melbourne (Australian Rules) Football Club and the University of Melbourne’s School of Design, to deliver a new campus whose goals are aligned to the club’s strategic infrastructure plan, with the aim of supporting and nurturing the growth of it’s women’s and youth programs.
Arden Campus’ proposed slate of programs will include a hub for women’s and youth female pathway programs, (for both elite and community football) plus a Community Field and Community Hub, whose shared assets will provide space for future community soccer teams, the university and future local schools, with the capacity to host more than 300 on-site activations annually.
Melbourne Victory has lauded the investment – to be administered by Development Victoria, in collaboration with local Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elders and communities – as a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity‘, allowing the state to build on its network of cultural and parkland zones linked by, and built around, Melbourne’s expanding rail system.
Once complete, the $7 billion transformation of Arden Central is predicted to create a new school, as well as more than 5,400 new homes to cater to more than 10,000 people, located just 1.5kms from the CBD.
John Dovaston, Chairman of Melbourne Victory, is confident Arden Central will ‘cement itself‘ as a critical up-and-coming destination for sport, education and entertainment. Campuses such as this, he said, ‘guarantee a synergy between elite focus and community development,’ which he believes only football – ‘the world game’, can achieve.
Speaking on Victory’s female and youth infrastructure strategy, club Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, described the plan as a ‘multi-faceted‘ reflection of their vision to lead, unite, connect and inspire.
This update to the club’s infrastructure is an overdue one, but is nonetheless a strategy which she hopes will form part of the ‘micro and macro touch points of Melbournians’ lives at Arden Central’, strengthening Melbourne Victory’s commitment to being ‘a club for all Victorians.’
Carnegie highlighted football’s impact on social cohesion in early 2025, when Victory’s infrastructure strategy was first unveiled. She emphasised the club’s responsibility to establish programs that can positively impact communities, regardless of their members’ gender, background or location.
Benefits of the ‘Campus Model’
In an official Melbourne Victory report on their long-term infrastructure strategy, published early 2025, the club laid out the following goals for the future of the state’s fastest-growing participatory sport: to unlock common opportunities for the game, create greater accessibility for talent and their families across the State (including cutting out travel time for both training and matches) to enhance Victory’s ability to grow soccer’s footprint, and to expand community connection.
The report compares Melbourne’s extensive geographical sprawl to cities such as London, Rome and Madrid – stating their campus model helps break down geographical barriers to success, with the long-term aim of establishing campuses across Melbourne’s North, South, East and West, each within a 1-hour’s drive from their AAMI Park HQ, as well as ttheir existing men’s traning facilities at Gosch’s Paddock.
Melbourne Victory’s long-term plans for their Campus development
As per the project’s FAQs, Victory will run women’s, pre-academy and academy programs from each campus once fully completed, with the club maintaining transparent communications in the meantime with fans, players and key stakeholders as to the full schedule and details of its interim offerings.
The club aims to maintain a cohesive, uniform ‘look and feel’ across each campus, so that people can know what to expect when training, playing or otherwise connecting with the Melbourne Victory brand and broader community.
This approach allows the club a wider reach in terms of attracting, developing and retaining new talent, as well as creating more familiar places for players and their supporters to call home.
Borussia Dortmund have launched ‘Fan Mode’, a new initiative aimed to incentivise supporters to put their phones away and live in the moment while supporting their side at home matches. Dortmund have paired with club sponsor Vodafone, with the program in use from Saturday’s 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Under the initiative, fans can activate ‘Fan Mode’ within the Borussia Dortmund app – in a manner similar to flight mode – before locking their phone as the action kicks off. From there, time spent inactive on their phone during play equates to points, which in turn sees fans in the running for prizes – including autographed jerseys and fan shop gift cards.
‘With Vodaphone, we have a partner who not only understands what technology is capable of, but also when it should take a back seat,’ said Dortmund CEO Carsten Cramer. ‘Here, a global technology company is specifically using its innovative strength to protect the experience that no technology can replace. ‘Fan Mode sends a powerful message. Over 81,000 people in the stadium, singing, cheering, and holding their breath together: this here and now is irreplaceable.’ The move comes following a 2023 survey conducted by Vodafone themselves, which showed 63 percent of general football fans regularly use their smartphones during matches but simultaneously, listed an increase in social media, selfies and streaming at the football as an annoyance. ‘Anyone at a soccer game should experience the moment and the emotions – not just a cell phone screen,’ said Marcel de Groot, CEO of Vodafone Germany. ‘Let’s leave our smartphones in our pockets more often at the stadium and instead focus on what’s happening on the field and in the stands.’ Partaking in the initiative is completely voluntary, as is the claiming of any points or prizes. Dortmund, managed by Niko Kovac and currently second on the Bundesliga table, led the Bundesliga’s average attendance for season 2025/26 with just under 80,000. Their ‘Yellow Wall’ – the supporters in the Südtribüne, or South End of Westfalenstadion (known commercially as Signal Iduna Park) – are widely considered among one of the iconic sights of global football fandom.
