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UEFA Puts Plans for European Football Rescue Fund on Hold

  • Fund intended to help clubs recover from impact of pandemic
  • Football body lined up Citigroup to arrange financing
Karim Benzema of Real Madrid scores their side's third goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final Leg Two match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid on May 4.

Karim Benzema of Real Madrid scores their side's third goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final Leg Two match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid on May 4.

Photographer: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

UEFA has paused plans for a multibillion-euro rescue fund it was putting together to help European football recover from the impact of the pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter.

The European governing body for the world’s favorite sport had been working on the roughly 6 billion-euro ($6.3 billion) package for around a year and lined up US bank Citigroup Inc. to arrange the financing.