Footballl news - Belgium bid to keep place in next season's UEFA club competitions

Belgium's football leaders will attempt to convince UEFA of the legitimacy of their decision to prematurely end their league campaign as they bid to head off the threat of a ban from next season's European club competitions.

The Belgian football federation KBVB would present its case to the UEFA executive committee after a weekend discussion between its president Mehdi Bayat and the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

"It was a constructive conversation, in which folds were smoothed and the intention was expressed to come to a solution together," the KBVB said in a statement on Saturday.

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It added that Thursday's decision of the Pro League's directors to call off the rest of the season, suspended for the last month because of the coronavirus pandemic, would be explained to UEFA's executive but did not say when.

"In this way, the intention is to safeguard the European tickets for Belgium for the 2020-2021 season," the statement added.

"The KBVB still supports UEFA's approach to seek solidarity from this corona crisis," it added.

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UEFA had threatened Belgium with the loss of its places in both the 2020-21 Champions League and Europa League.

UEFA had just one day before agreed with member associations to find ways of extending the season beyond the official June 30 finish.

UEFA, the European Club Association and the European Leagues umbrella group sent a joint letter to members on Thursday saying it was of "paramount importance" that competitions, including domestic leagues, were decided on the field.

But Belgium ignored the call, pulling the plug on the rest of the season after 17 of their 24 professional clubs appealed for the league to end, citing public health and financial problems.

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