UEFA to explore retaining single-leg games

LISBON, Portugal, Aug 23 (AP): UEFA President Aleksander ?eferin will hold talks about retaining the single-game eliminator format that has been used to complete the pandemic-disrupted Champions League and Europa League seasons.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Ceferin said people inside and outside of football had contacted him to say they were "extremely excited" by the final eight format that abandoned the home-and-away two-legged quarterfinals and semifinals.

"I have to say that this system of one match seems more interesting to me than the other system with two legged matches," Ceferin told the AP ahead of Paris Saint-Germain playing Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

Ceferin stressed he would consult widely before pushing for any permanent changes to the format.

"It's one of the interesting things that was brought by this pandemic," Ceferin said. "We had to do a system like that. We had to play this way, but at the end, we see it's a very interesting system.

"Now, it's quite complicated to place a final eight in the calendar. But we saw that people want exciting matches, that in one match, every team can beat every team in Champions League or the Europa League. So it's something to consider for the future ... I think in September or October, we have to start to seriously speak."

Ceferin is not concerned that removing the number of knockout games could have a significant financial impact on UEFA.

"Even though you have less matches, the value can be higher if promoted properly," he said.