European Soccer Seasons 2020-21 - What will it look like?

Up (from left): Leicester City English forward Jamie Vardy (Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Image), Barcelona Argentine forward Lionel Messi (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images). Down (from left): SSC Napoli Belgian striker Dries Mertens (Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images), Bayern Munich Polish striker Robert Lewandowski (Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) and LOSC Lille Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen (Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)

The protracted 2019-20 European seasons have come to a close, and now it’s time to start looking ahead to how next season will look.

The current Champions League and Europa Leagues will conclude on the penultimate weekend of August, with several major domestic European seasons starting just two weeks later.

The Premier League and La Liga are down to start on September 12th, while the Bundesliga will begin the following week. Ligue 1, meanwhile, will actually begin on August 22nd, the day before the Champions League final.

According to YahooSports, Teams still involved in European competition are likely to be given delayed starts—the Premier League has already committed to giving at least 30 days of rest to any of the four English teams who go deep in the UEFA contests.

The European season are all due to finish around May 23rd 2021, which gives enough space before the postponed Euro 2020 tournament, due to start June 11th 2021.

That means seasons are going to be condensed by about a month, so the heavily congested fixture calendar will be even more intense.

Next season’s Champions League group stage will also be delayed by a month, as it’s due to start on October 20th.

Now, the big question is crowds, and whether any will be allowed in stadiums.

The Premier League is, according to several sources, aiming for between 30 and 50% capacity from October, on a socially distanced basis.

La Liga have said they want fans, but they may not have any before 2021, the Bundesliga is currently “holding discussions” while the Dutch FA have confirmed the Eredivisie will return with between 15 and 35% capacity.

In France, meanwhile, they already have fans back: PSG’s recent friendlies and French Cup win were attended by 5,000 fans, and the French government is allowing one third capacity from next season.

So, there will be crowds, but no full stadiums for the foreseeable future.

In other news, soccer’s rule makers have confirmed all teams will be allowed five substitutes next season, but it is up to individual leagues to decide whether they adopt it.

And the transfer window is open right now, and will stay open until October 5th.