2020–21 UEFA Futsal Champions League explained

Tourney Name:UEFA Futsal Champions League
Year:2020–21
Size:275
Dates:Qualifying rounds:

Final tournament:
28 April – 3 May 2021
Num Teams:Final tournament: 8
Total: 55
Associations:51
Champion Other: Sporting CP
Count:2
Second Other: Barcelona
Prevseason:2019–20
Nextseason:2021–22

The 2020–21 UEFA Futsal Champions League was the 35th edition of Europe's premier club futsal tournament, and the 20th edition organized by UEFA. It was also the third edition since the tournament was rebranded from "UEFA Futsal Cup" to "UEFA Futsal Champions League".[1]

The final tournament was held at Krešimir Ćosić Hall in Zadar, Croatia from 28 April to 3 May 2021, and was the first time that the final tournament was held at a neutral venue instead of in the country of one of the qualified teams.[2] It was originally set to be held at the Minsk Arena in Minsk, Belarus,[3] which was originally appointed to host the 2020 final tournament. However, on 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee chose to relocate the 2020 finals to Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona, Spain due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, and Minsk instead hosted the 2021 finals.[4] [5] On 23 February 2021, the UEFA Executive Committee chose to relocate the 2021 finals to the Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia due to travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[6] [7] On 7 April 2021, the finals were once again relocated, this time to the Krešimir Ćosić Hall in Zadar, after the request of Croatian national health authorities to use the Arena Zagreb.[8]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the format of the competition was changed, with all qualifying matches played as single leg matches, and the final tournament consisting of eight instead of four teams.[9]

Sporting CP defeated title holders Barcelona in the final to win their second title.[10]

Association team allocation

The association ranking based on the UEFA futsal national team coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[11]

For this season, the top three-ranked associations, Spain, Portugal and Russia, can enter two teams. As the title holders are from Spain, the fourth-ranked association, Kazakhstan, can also enter two teams.[12]

Distribution

Teams are ranked according to their UEFA futsal club coefficients, computed based on results of the last three seasons, to decide on the round they enter, as well as their seeding in draws.

The following is the access list for this season under the revised format.[9] [13]

Access list for 2020–21 UEFA Futsal Champions League
Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous round
Preliminary round
(46 teams)
  • 46 teams ranked 9–54
Round of 32
(32 teams)
  • Title holders
  • 8 teams ranked 1–8
  • 23 winners of preliminary round
Round of 16
(16 teams)
  • 16 winners of round of 32
Final tournament
(8 teams)
  • 8 winners of round of 16

Teams

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.[14]

A total of 55 teams from 51 of the 55 UEFA member associations participate in the 2020–21 UEFA Futsal Champions League.[15] The title holders and the eight teams with the highest UEFA futsal club coefficients receive byes to the round of 32, and the other 46 teams enter the preliminary round.

All teams in italics are declared champions or selected to play by the national association following an abandoned season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, and are subject to approval by UEFA as per the guidelines for entry to European competitions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

Legend
Qualified teams for 2020–21 UEFA Futsal Champions League
Teams entering round of 32
Rankwidth=190Associationwidth=200Team
THBarcelona69.001
1Inter FS[17] 60.667
2Sporting CP57.999
3Kairat35.667
4Benfica33.332
5KPRF[18] 24.000
6Gazprom-Ugra Yugorsk20.333
7Aktobe16.000
8Dobovec14.501
Teams entering preliminary round
Rankwidth=150Associationwidth=200Team
9Pesaro14.167
10Prodexim Kherson14.000
11Rekord Bielsko-Biała10.502
12Chrudim10.333
13Vytis7.749
14Leo[19] 7.500
15Araz Naxçivan6.999
16Olmissum[20] 6.834
17MVFC Berettyóújfalu6.500
18Charleroi6.000
19Viten Orsha[21] 5.501
20Luxol St Andrews5.167
21MIMEL Lučenec4.916
22Red Star Belgrade4.667
23Hovocubo4.667
24Hohenstein-Ernstthal[22] 3.833
25Shkupi3.833
26United Galați3.667
27Minerva3.376
28Salines2.834
29Omonia2.417
30Prishtina[23] 2.334
31Helvécia2.168
32ACCS2.084
33Gentofte[24] 2.084
34Tbilisi State University[25] 2.000
35Allstars[26] 2.000
36Hammarby IF[27] 1.667
37Petrow[28] 1.667
38Viimsi Smsraha1.583
39Akaa1.333
40Titograd[29] 1.167
41Lynx1.001
42AEK0.750
43Tirana0.750
44Piyalepaşa0.667
45Utleira[30] 0.667
46Ashdod Dolphins0.583
47Differdange 030.583
48Blue Magic[31] 0.583
49Cherno More0.500
50PYF Saltires0.500
51Swansea University0.250
52Encamp0.250
53Fiorentino0.084
54Rosario[32] 0.000
Associations which did not enter
Notes

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[9] The tournament would have originally started in August 2020, but were initially delayed to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. However, due to the continuing pandemic in Europe, UEFA announced a new format and schedule on 16 September 2020. Instead of mini-tournaments (preliminary round, main round, and elite round), all qualifying rounds will be played as single leg knockout matches, and the final tournament will consist of eight instead of four teams.[33] All matches are played behind closed doors until further notice.

RoundDrawDates
Preliminary round27 October 202024–29 November 2020
Round of 329 December 202012–17 January 2021
Round of 1621 January 202116–21 February 2021
Final tournament (quarter-finals, semi-finals, final)No draw28 April – 3 May 2021

The schedule of the competition announced in June 2020, under the original format, was as follows (all draws held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).

RoundDrawDates
Preliminary round2 September 202013–18 October 2020
Main round22–29 November 2020
Elite round4 December 202016–21 February 2021
Final tournamentEarly 2021 (Minsk)

Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round was held on 27 October 2020, 13:30 CET.[34]

Seeding

The 46 teams were seeded based on their UEFA futsal club coefficients.[13] Prior to the draw, teams unable to host (indicated by italics below) notified UEFA accordingly, and UEFA divided the teams into six groups containing an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams, which would be drawn separately. First, a seeded team able to host was drawn against an unseeded team unable to host, with the former to be the home team, until all latter teams were drawn. Next, a seeded team unable to host was drawn against an unseeded team able to host, with the latter to be the home team, until all former teams were drawn. Finally, a seeded team able to host was drawn against an unseeded team able to host, with the first team drawn of the two to be the home team.

Group 1Group 2Group 3
width=17%Seededwidth=17%Unseededwidth=17%Seededwidth=17%Unseededwidth=16%Seededwidth=16%Unseeded
valign=topvalign=top
  • Petrow
  • Viimsi Smsraha
  • Akaa
  • Piyalepaşa
valign=topvalign=top
  • ACCS
  • Allstars
  • Blue Magic
  • Cherno More
valign=topvalign=top
Group 4Group 5Group 6
width=17%Seededwidth=17%Unseededwidth=17%Seededwidth=17%Unseededwidth=16%Seededwidth=16%Unseeded
valign=topvalign=top
  • Gentofte
  • AEK
  • Fiorentino
  • Rosario
valign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top
  • Tbilisi State University
  • Ashdod Dolphins
  • Swansea University

Summary

The matches were played between 24–29 November 2020.

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Matches

Times are CET (UTC+1), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

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Round of 32

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 9 December 2020, 14:00 CET.[35]

Seeding

The 32 teams, including the nine teams which received a bye (indicated by bold below) and the 23 winners of the preliminary round, were seeded based on their UEFA futsal club coefficients (the title holders were automatically seeded first).[36] Prior to the draw, teams unable to host (indicated by italics below) notified UEFA accordingly, and UEFA divided the teams into four groups containing an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams, which would be drawn separately. First, a seeded team able to host was drawn against an unseeded team unable to host, with the former to be the home team, until all latter teams were drawn. Next, a seeded team unable to host was drawn against an unseeded team able to host, with the latter to be the home team, until all former teams were drawn. Finally, a seeded team able to host was drawn against an unseeded team able to host, with the first team drawn of the two to be the home team.

Group 1Group 2
width=25%Seededwidth=25%Unseededwidth=25%Seededwidth=25%Unseeded
valign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top
  • Charleroi
  • Hovocubo
  • ACCS
  • Gentofte
Group 3Group 4
width=25%Seededwidth=25%Unseededwidth=25%Seededwidth=25%Unseeded
valign=topvalign=top
  • Viten Orsha
  • Hohenstein-Ernstthal
  • Shkupi
  • AEK
valign=topvalign=top
  • MIMEL Lučenec
  • United Galați
  • Salines
  • Omonia

Summary

The matches were played on 15 and 16 January 2021.

|}

Matches

Times are CET (UTC+1), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

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Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 21 January 2021, 14:00 CET.[37]

Seeding

The 16 winners of the round of 32 were seeded based on their UEFA futsal club coefficients (the title holders, should they qualify, were automatically seeded first).[38] A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the first team drawn of the two to be the home team. Based on political restrictions, teams from Russia and Ukraine could not be drawn against each other.

width=50%Seededwidth=50%Unseeded
valign=topvalign=top

Summary

The matches were played on 18, 19 and 20 February 2021.

|}

Matches

Times are CET (UTC+1), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

----------------------------

Final tournament

The eight winners of the round of 16 played in the final tournament, which consisted of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (with no third place match unlike previous tournaments), between 28 April and 3 May 2021, at the Krešimir Ćosić Hall in Zadar, Croatia.[39]

Seeding

The eight teams were seeded 1–8 based on their UEFA futsal club coefficients (the title holders were automatically seeded first).[40]

In the following table, finals or final tournaments until 2018 were in the Futsal Cup era, since 2019 were in the UEFA Futsal Champions League era. All appearances in two-legged finals (2003–2006) or final tournaments (2002: eight-team finals, 2007–2020: four-team finals) are counted.[39]

SeedTeamPrevious final or final tournament appearances
(bold indicates winners, italic indicates hosts or co-hosts)
1 Barcelona (title holders)69.0017 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020)
2 Inter FS60.6679 (2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
3 Sporting CP57.9997 (2002, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019)
4 Kairat35.6678 (2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019)
5 Benfica33.3324 (2004, 2010, 2011, 2016)
6 KPRF24.0001 (2020)
7 Gazprom-Ugra Yugorsk20.3332 (2016, 2017)
8 Dobovec14.501None

Bracket

The bracket of the final tournament was determined by the seeding, without any draw, as follows (Regulations Articles 14.02, 14.03 and 14.04):[11] [40]

RoundMatches
Quarter-finals
  • Quarter-final 1: Seed 1 vs. Seed 8
  • Quarter-final 2: Seed 2 vs. Seed 7
  • Quarter-final 3: Seed 3 vs. Seed 6
  • Quarter-final 4: Seed 4 vs. Seed 5
Semi-finals
  • Semi-final 1: Winner quarter-final 1 vs. Winner quarter-final 4
  • Semi-final 2: Winner quarter-final 2 vs. Winner quarter-final 3
Final
  • Winner semi-final 1 vs. Winner semi-final 2

Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA.

Quarter-finals

------------

Semi-finals

----

Final

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerTeamTotal
1 Petro Shoturma Prodexim Kherson7
2 Diego Cavinato Sporting CP6
Ferrão Barcelona
4 Daniel Araújo United Galați5
Artem Kozel Viten Orsha
6 Luiz Garcia Claudio Prodexim Kherson4
Abdessamad Mohammed ACCS
Tomás Paçó Sporting CP
Roninho Prodexim Kherson
Josip Sesar Salines

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: UEFA futsal club records. UEFA.com. 28 April 2019.
  2. Web site: 2021 UEFA Futsal Champions League finals: Krešimir Ćosić Arena, Zadar. UEFA.com. 17 September 2020.
  3. Web site: Minsk to stage 2021 UEFA Futsal Champions League finals. UEFA.com. 4 December 2019.
  4. News: UEFA competitions to resume in August . UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations . 17 June 2020 . 17 June 2020.
  5. Web site: Futsal Champions League finals in October in Barcelona. UEFA.com. 16 June 2020.
  6. Web site: UEFA Women's and Men's Under-19 Championships 2020/21 cancelled. UEFA. 23 February 2021. 7 April 2021.
  7. Web site: UEFA.com. 23 February 2021. UEFA Futsal Champions League finals moved to Zagreb. 27 February 2021. UEFA.com.
  8. Web site: UEFA Futsal Champions League finals moved to Zadar . UEFA . 7 April 2021 . 7 April 2021.
  9. Web site: 2020/21 UEFA Futsal Champions League format. UEFA.com. 16 September 2020.
  10. Web site: UEFA.com. 2021-05-03. 2020/21 Futsal Champions League at a glance. 2021-05-03. UEFA.com. en.
  11. Web site: Regulations of the UEFA Futsal Champions League, 2020/21. UEFA. 24 September 2020.
  12. Web site: Men's Futsal National Team Coefficients. UEFA.com.
  13. Web site: Full coefficient rankings. UEFA. 13 October 2020.
  14. Web site: UEFA postpones all June national team matches. UEFA.com. 1 April 2020.
  15. Web site: Entries for 2020/21 UEFA Futsal Champions League. UEFA.com. 13 October 2020.
  16. Web site: Guidelines on eligibility principles for 2020/21 UEFA Club Competitions – COVID 19. UEFA.com. 23 April 2020.
  17. Web site: CRÓNICA – Movistar Inter vuelve a coronarse en su década prodigiosa (3-3). Real Federación Española de Fútbol. 30 June 2020.
  18. Web site: МФК КПРФ - ЧЕМПИОН РОССИИ!. mfc-kprf.ru. 29 August 2020.
  19. Web site: "Լեոն"՝ Հայաստանի ֆուտզալի սուպերլիգայի չեմպիոն. Հայաստանի Ֆուտբոլի Ֆեդերացիա. 29 June 2020.
  20. Web site: Omiš slavi prvake: Olmissum uzeo naslov u priči iz bajke!. germanijak.hr. 16 July 2020.
  21. Web site: "Витэн" выиграл золото чемпионата Беларуси по мини-футболу. sportnaviny.com. 21 June 2020. 22 June 2020. 23 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200623150132/https://sportnaviny.com/archives/71756. dead.
  22. Web site: Hohenstein-Ernstthal zum zweiten Mal Deutscher Meister. Deutscher Fußball-Bund. 16 August 2020.
  23. Web site: Mabetex Prishtina kampion i futsallit. Federata e Futbollit e Kosovës. 27 June 2020.
  24. Web site: Lystrup Futsal vandt sølv ved DM. aarhusidag.dk. 5 July 2020.
  25. Web site: თსუ საქართველოს ჩემპიონია!ყველა სიახლე. sbm.ge. 19 August 2020.
  26. Web site: Meister 2019/20 1. FC Murexin Allstars Wiener Neustadt. Futsal in Österreich. facebook.com. 8 March 2020.
  27. Web site: Bajen mästare - efter stort drama. svenskafutsalligan.se. 21 June 2020.
  28. Web site: PC "Petrow" izcīna savu pirmo telpu futbola čempionu titulu. Latvijas Futbola federācija. 5 July 2020.
  29. Web site: TITOGRAD U NIKŠIĆU ODBRANIO ŠAMPIONSKU TITULU. 9 July 2020.
  30. Web site: Futsal: Utleira er seriemester. Norges Fotballforbund. 23 February 2020.
  31. Web site: 11th March 2020: FINAL AUL Futsal Premier League ; Blue Magic - Puskas Hagi 12:8 (4:6).. Blue Magic Futsal Dublin. facebook.com. 18 March 2020.
  32. Web site: Northern lreland Futsal League Final sponsored by @cathedraleye. Rosario Futsal Club. facebook.com. 21 August 2020.
  33. Web site: UEFA women's, futsal and youth competitions postponed to November. UEFA.com. 16 September 2020.
  34. Web site: Futsal Champions League preliminary round draw. UEFA.com. 27 October 2020.
  35. Web site: Futsal Champions League round of 32 draw. UEFA.com. 4 December 2020.
  36. Web site: Round of 32 coefficient rankings. UEFA.
  37. Web site: Futsal Champions League round of 16 draw. UEFA.com. 20 January 2021.
  38. Web site: Round of 16 coefficient rankings. UEFA.
  39. Web site: UEFA Futsal Champions League finals guide. UEFA.com. 23 February 2021.
  40. Web site: Futsal Champions League finals draw. UEFA.com.