ReutersCycling-Israel round of Track Champions League cancelled, London prepares for finale
The UCI Track Champions League will culminate in this weekend's double-header in London after the final round scheduled for Israel on Dec. 11 was cancelled because of the new Omnicron coronavirus variant. London will host two sold-out rounds with one later on Friday followed by Saturday's finale. Israel has imposed tight restrictions on movement into the country in response to fears about the new variant.
ReutersMessi dreams of delivering PSG elusive Champions League crown
PARIS (Reuters) -Lionel Messi said on Wednesday he wanted to power Paris St Germain to their first Champions League trophy, putting the tearful farewell he bade to Barcelona behind him after signing a two-year contract with the deep-pocketed French soccer powerhouse. Messi joined the star-studded PSG as a free agent after Barcelona, where he begun and always imagined he would play out his career, acknowledged last week they could no longer afford him. Thousands of PSG fans thronged the side's Parc des Princes stadium, daring to believe their team would now deliver the Champions League having hoovered up domestic titles since free-spending owners Qatar Sports Investment European arrived in 2011 but always fallen short of European soccer's top prize.
ReutersMonitor for COVID-19 symptoms, Portugal says after Champions League
All those who got up close to Champions League celebrations in the city of Porto should monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and avoid close contact with others over the next 14 days, Portugal's northern region health authority said on Sunday. In the few days leading up to Saturday's final between Chelsea and Manchester City, big crowds of English fans, who were largely maskless and did not socially distance, took over Porto's riverside area to drink and chant team slogans. Some 16,500 fans were allowed into the stadium but many others travelled to Porto to support their teams from the sidelines.
ReutersRavaged by COVID-19, Porto hopes for Champions League final tourism boost
As thousands of English football fans flock to Portugal's city of Porto for Saturday's Champions League final, hotels and bars are hoping the tourism boost will be a prelude to their emergence from a collapse brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Standing in the lobby of the NH Collection hotel in the heart of Porto, general manager Francisco Brito could not hide his happiness. "It is definitely a boost for most hotels," Brito told Reuters as a couple checked in behind him.