Pranav Nair
Manchester United to take part in Europa League mini-tournament in August
According to ESPN, Manchester United will take part in a Europa League mini-tournament to be hosted in Germany in August.
The Red Devils already have one foot in the quarter-finals of the competition they last won in 2017. This following a crushing 5-0 win over Linz back in March. A fixture that was played behind closed doors.
According to the report, the venue for the tournament is the Commerzbank Arena, home of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. The competition will also feature the likes of Wolves, Inter, Roma, and Bayer Leverkusen.
The Stadion Energa Gdansk in Poland was originally supposed to stage the final of Europe’s second-tier competition. However, Frankfurt’s superior infrastructure has been cited as a reason for the switch in venues. (h/t ESPN)
A key element among the discussions is the Frankfurt am Main International Airport. One of the world’s major transport hubs, it can help ensure ease of travel for all participants.
Although domestic competitions are yet to restart, UEFA is yet to provide guidelines on the prevailing European competitions. The plans will be made public later this month on the 17th. (h/t ESPN)
UEFA’s premier competition, the UEFA Champions League is also set to follow a similar format. It too will see a change of venue with Istanbul being replaced by Lisbon.
UEFA are expected to hold talks with both Istanbul and Gdanskto compensate them for the likelihood of this season’s games being moved elsewhere. (h/t ESPN)
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The Europa League offers us another route of a return to the Champions League. We would do well to repeat the heroics of 2017. With Paul Pogba back fit, he could very well lead us to yet another European triumph.
Hopefully, the aftermath of such a victory will be kinder this time around.
