European football will pause ahead of all 18 Champions League fixtures this week to pay tribute to Nepal flood and landslide victims
Each fixture will feature a pre-match moment of silence alongside a banner stating You are not alone Nepal
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin expressed support, wishing strength and resilience to those recovering from the disaster
European soccer will pause before all 18 Champions League games this week to honor victims of flash floods and landslides in Nepal, UEFA stated Monday. UEFA stated that each match will be preceded by a moment of silence and a banner display in a show of support.
“A moment of silence will be held and a banner will be displayed as a sign of solidarity and support ahead of all UEFA Champions League matches,” the European soccer body stated Monday in a statement. The banner will say: “You are not alone Nepal.”
Action begins on Tuesday. Six fixtures kick off the matchweek, featuring Real Madrid at home against Inter Milan. Six additional matches will follow on both Wednesday and Thursday.
UEFA President Statement
“We wish them strength and resilience as they continue to recover from this tragedy and its aftermath,” UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said.
Past Disaster Tributes
This is not the first global tribute. European football held similar commemorations in September 2023 after a major earthquake struck Morocco and deadly floods battered Libya.
Match Schedule Details
All 18 matches will carry the same pre-match tribute. UEFA stated that the moment of silence and the banner will be shown ahead of every game.
What Happened In Nepal?
A catastrophic glacial collapse on the north face of Langtang Lirung in the Himalayas triggered a massive ice-rock avalanche that sent monstrous flash floods and debris flows barrelling down into northern and central Nepal near the Tibet border.
Described locally as a Himalayan tsunami, the disaster unleashed walls of mud, water, and rock surging at speeds up to 180 kilometers per hour, completely wiping out villages, major stretches of highways, and the strategic Gyirong border trading post.
The sudden wall of water caught entire communities and infrastructure projects off guard, leaving over 1,350 people dead, thousands still missing, and preliminary economic losses estimated at roughly 10% of the nation's economy. As rescue personnel raced against time to clear debris and search trapped hydropower tunnels, the disaster laid bare the severe threats posed by a rapidly changing climate in fragile high-altitude mountain regions.
