City’s Under-19s had been drawn away to the Greek outfit in the Round of 64, which was due to take place in early March, but UEFA has made the decision to abandon this season’s competition due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A statement from UEFA read: “The UEFA Executive Committee has decided to cancel the 2020/21 edition of the UEFA Youth League due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on the staging of competitions.
“The committee had initially decided last year to amend the format of the competition and to delay its start, but the various measures imposed by health authorities around Europe have continued to evolve since then.
“The travelling restrictions affecting participating clubs create major difficulties for organising their matches and two clubs have already withdrawn from the competition.
“The UEFA Executive Committee stressed that there is no possibility to further postpone the start of the competition and that the health and safety of youth players must be given highest possible priority.
“Regrettably, the conditions to restart this international youth competition are not met in the current circumstances and both the UEFA Club Competitions Committee and the European Club Association were consulted and supported the idea to exceptionally cancel this season’s UEFA Youth League.”
The cancellation of the European tournament follows the news that this season’s FA Youth Cup campaign has been postponed until further notice due to the Coronavirus.
Both City’s Under-18s and the Elite Development Squad’s league campaigns continue to take place.
