Man Utd: Ed Woodward admits uncertainty over cup competitions
- Published
Woodward was named executive vice-chairman of Manchester United in 2012
Next season's domestic cup competitions could be affected by efforts to complete the current Premier League campaign, says Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
Woodward will be involved in a meeting of Premier League clubs on Friday, when there will be further discussion about a potential restart on 8 June.
United have been drawn to visit Norwich in the quarter-finals of this season's FA Cup but there has been no indication about when that game might be played.
European governing body Uefa's most recent proposals were centred on a plan to complete its competitions in August. Even if these dates are met, they will have a major impact on the 2020-21 season, which has to finish by the end of May 2021 to fit in with the rescheduled European Championship.
In a question and answer session at a United fans' forum, Woodward said: "There are many moving parts.
"We don't know what is going to happen with regards to the FA Cup and what's going to happen next season if this one [FA Cup] is truncated a little bit to squeeze in the Premier League.
"Does that have a knock-on on domestic cups?"
Woodward added when games restart they will "probably have to be played behind closed doors".
Amid some speculation matches might be moved abroad if conditions were more favourable than in the UK, he added he expected them to be played in England.
The season stopped with United in fifth place in the Premier League, three points behind Chelsea, and buoyed by a Manchester derby victory over City at Old Trafford on 8 March.
It was part of a run of six wins and two draws from eight games since their return after the winter break, which solidified Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's position as manager after a difficult period in January that included a home defeat by Burnley.
Evidently, Woodward is solidly behind the Norwegian, and while big-money deals have been ruled out when the transfer window opens, United have not asked their players to take wage deferrals or cuts and intend to be competitive in the market.
"Once we have that visibility of a path through the crisis and coming out of the other side to relative normality, then of course, we aim to remain highly competitive in the market," he said.
"As I've said many times, we remain committed to backing Ole to win trophies. That's our core objective as a club."