UEFA said only three games had been cancelled because of the COVID-19 crisis in that period across the 10 competitions - the Champions League, Europa League, Women’s Champions League, Youth League, Super Cup, Futsal Champions League, Nations League, EURO 2020 playoffs, Under-21 and Women’s EURO qualifiers.

All three came in qualifying for this season's men's club tournaments, including the Champions League.

Figures released by the continental body also show there have been 341 positive COVID-19 tests from 61,851 administered in the period from August 5 to October 15.

UEFA claims its return to play guidelines, imposed to ensure its major events could go ahead during the coronavirus crisis, "made professional football among the safest environments in the world."

"It has been an incredible achievement to manage to play more than 97 per cent of matches as scheduled," said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.

"The number of positive tests is also extremely low at less than one per cent. 

"The return to play protocol that we put in place is robust and ensures the safety of all those involved, even in these trying times when the pandemic is progressing across the continent and it gives us confidence that our competitions will be played as planned. 

"It is a tribute to those involved and it demonstrates that matches can be played safely."

While the number of cancellations and postponements is low, the COVID-19 pandemic has still impacted dozens of teams competing in UEFA's tournaments.

Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv and Amsterdam-based side Ajax were forced to field depleted squads in their respective Champions League matches this week owing to cases of coronavirus.

Last month Shakhtar Donetsk, also of Ukraine, were without 10 first-team players for an away clash with Real Madrid but managed to record a 3-2 victory over the Spanish giants.

Two teams - Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava and FC Drita of Kosovo - forfeited their UEFA Champions League qualifiers in August due to positive tests within the two teams, while a similar fate befell another Kosovan team, Prishtina, in the Europa League preliminary round.

Slovan, whose qualifier with KI Klaksvik was twice postponed after two different groups in the Slovakian club's squad reported positive cases, appealed their effective exclusion from the Champions League to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the Faroe Islands-based side from playing the Swiss club Young Boys in the next round.

The verdict from the CAS, which dismissed Slovan’s request for an urgent interim ruling to postpone the match in Switzerland, came around three hours before the game’s scheduled kick off, and a decision in favour of Slovan would have thrown an already congested qualification schedule into further chaos.

UEFA, which holds teams responsible if they cannot fulfil fixtures under its updated rules for the safe playing of matches, approved the partial return of fans to stadiums in its tournaments in October.

Around 15,000 attended the Super Cup between Bayern Munich and Sevilla in Budapest in September, while spectators have been permitted to attend games in competitions including the Nations League.

Attendances are capped at a maximum of 30 per cent of the respective stadium's capacity, while away supporters are not allowed into any games until further notice.