The draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League will take place on March 18 at UEFA's headquarters, the House of European Football, in Nyon, Switzerland.
The UEFA Champions League draw will be conducted from 12.00CET by UEFA general secretary, Gianni Infantino, together with the ambassador for the final, Gary Lineker, the former England striker. The UEFA Europa League draw will follow at 13.00CET and will be carried out by Gianni Infantino and the ambassador for the final, ex-Republic of Ireland midfielder Ronnie Whelan.
The eight winners of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 ties will contest the quarter-finals, with the pairings to be determined by an open draw. At this stage of the competition, no teams are seeded and clubs from the same national association can be drawn against each other. The quarter-finals will be played on a home-and-away basis, with the first legs on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 April and the return matches the following week, on April 12 and 13.
The four quarter-final winners will know who they will meet in the semi-finals as the pairings will also be decided during the draw ceremony on March 18. The semi-final first legs are scheduled for two weeks after the quarter-finals, on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 April, with the second legs taking place on May 3 and 4.
The last step of the draw ceremony will define whether the winner of semi-final 1 or the winner of semi-final 2 will be considered, for administrative purposes, as the home team in the final. The 2010/11 UEFA Champions League final will be held on May 28 at Wembley Stadium in London, kicking off at 20.45CET.
The exact same procedure will apply for the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. The quarter-final matches will be played on April 7 and 14, and the semi-finals on April 28 and May 5. The final will be staged at Dublin Arena in the Irish capital on Wednesday 18 May, with a 20.45CET kick-off time, UEFA.com reports.
