The coronavirus pandemic has brought sports to its kneels for almost three months now as the virus spread across the globe.
The Olympics have been pushed back to 2021 as a result of the rampaging virus.
Football is not left out as all major leagues in the world suspended activities as part of measures to halt the spread of the virus.
The Euros and Copa America – both previously slated for this summer- have been pushed back.
It’s likely we won’t see leagues resume widespread until the outbreak is contained and the conditions are deemed safe in that respective country.
But with countries increasing their testing capacity, some European governments are gradually opening up the society and football is affected.
We will be looking at the big football leagues in Europe and tentative dates players will return to the field of play.
Dutch league (Eredivisie)
Sport in Netherlands is currently at a standstill due to the coronavirus, and the Dutch government have banned all sporting events until September 1 at the earliest.
Supporters will not be able to attend football matches until there is a coronavirus vaccine, Dutch health minister Hugo de Jonge says.
That decision resulted in the Eredivise being ended prematurely, with no champions and no relegation.
De Jonge wrote to the Dutch parliament to explain that, even if the government chooses to allow sporting events to resume from September, fans will not be present.
He wrote: “We cannot yet mention a date for the last step, the mass gatherings. That is actually only possible if there is a vaccine and no one knows how long it will take. We hope of course soon, but a year or more is very real.”
Medical experts say developing a new vaccine takes, on average, 10 years.
However, due to the heavy international interest and investment in developing a coronavirus vaccine, some experts believe one could be ready in a matter of months.
Around the world, approximately 460 trials are taking place with the aim of combating coronavirus.
German Bundesliga
The German government has given approval to the German football league (DFB) to return to action on May 16, with the number of coronavirus-related deaths in the country falling to less than 100 a day at times for some days.
The season will resume on Saturday, May 16 with the Revierderby, the derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 at the Westfalonstadion, as decided by a meeting of clubs on Thursday.
Previously, there had been plans for a two-week quarantine period ahead of a resumption to ensure any players or staff suffering from coronavirus had recovered, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the country’s testing capacity means this will not be necessary.
“Testing is regular there, so the quarantine period is not set to 14 days,” she said.
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge supports the decision to restart the Bundesliga and believes it is the correct call to decide the title ‘on the pitch’.
The Bundesliga was interrupted after the 25th matchday, so will pick up from where it left off – despite concerns about hosting the Dortmund-Schalke derby while coronavirus is still so prevalent, with the possibility of fan congregations leading to an increase in infections.
The other matchday 26 fixtures will be: RB Leipzig vs Freiburg, Frankfurt vs Borussia Monchengladbach, Werder Bremen vs Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim vs Hertha Berlin, Fortuna Dusseldorf vs SC Paderborn, Augsburg vs Wolfsburg, Cologne vs Mainz, Union Berlin vs Bayern Munich.
The current plan is for the Bundesliga to play out its final nine games by June 30. That is not the ultimate deadline, but when some players’ contracts are due to expire – which would make life more complicated if the season is still ongoing.
It has been reported the DFB have hopes to play the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal, the German FA Cup, by the end of June too – which would mean fitting 10 rounds of games into seven weeks, meaning three midweek rounds may be required to meet the end-of-June date.
England – Premier League
The Premier League is targeting a return to training in small groups from May 18.
The English Football League (EFL) has warned football cannot resume before adequate testing arrangements are in place for coronavirus.
Also, the National League clubs have voted in favour of ending the 2019/20 at its current point and cancelling all remaining fixtures.
‘Project Restart’ plans will be discussed at the league’s next shareholders meeting on Monday May 11, a day after the UK government gives an update on lockdown restrictions.
Meanwhile, doctors from all 20 Premier League clubs have told football chiefs the proposed season restart is not safe in a 100-point letter.
Medics put together a long letter to Premier League medical advisor Mark Gillett and director of football Richard Garlick listing 100 questions and potential problems.
According to The Athletic, the letter – split into ten different sections – revealed multiple COVID-19 concerns they believe have not yet been addressed.
The concerns, according to the report include: “Approving guidelines that still carry risk of death; Liability, insurance and testing for players, staff and their families; Possible transmission via sweat and goalkeeper gloves; Suspicions that some clubs are already ignoring guidelines; Increased risk for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups as well as ability of emergency services to attend training ground incidents.”
France – Ligue 1:
PSG have been crowned champions after it was announced on April 30 that the season was over.
To date France is the only country in Europe’s ‘big five’ that has opted for an early finish to the 2019-20 season.
And Lyon have raised the possibility of claiming damages after missing out on European qualification.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has urged Ligue 1 authorities to reconsider their decision to end the French season early, saying he is still hopeful that they may yet turn away from the “wrong path”.
“We are on the wrong path, it may not be too late to try to imagine, in the light of what is happening everywhere in Europe, something that is politically coherent: we had until late August and maybe even early September to finish,” the Lyon chief explained to L’Equipe.
“Until I receive the transcript of the minutes from the board of directors which decided to stop … I haven’t had it since April 30, and it’s strange.”
On April 30 the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel) confirmed that the 2019-20 campaign would not resume when French football returns following the coronavirus pandemic, crowning Paris Saint-Germain as champions.
Amiens and Toulouse, who occupied 19th and 20th place respectively at the time of the top flight’s suspension, were in turn relegated to Ligue 2, while 18th-placed Nimes were given a reprieve and will not face a play-off once the sport is up and running again.
Marseille and Rennes, meanwhile, join PSG as France’s 2020-21 Champions League contingent while Lyon face a year out of European football after finishing the term in seventh place.
Spain – La Liga
Professional football players in Spain have been given the green light to return to their training camps for individual sessions since May 4, while teams will be able to undergo group sessions from May 11 onwards.
The Spanish league has confirmed a return to competition has been scheduled for June.
On Saturday, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he expects LaLiga to resume “soon” behind closed doors.
LaLiga representative Keegan Pierce explains the Spanish football’s plans to return after the country’s strict lockdown measures were eased while speaking with Sky Sports.
“The most important thing to keep in mind is that LaLiga is looking to resume the rest of its season in coordination with the Spanish government, which announced just last week a phased process towards what they describe as the return to new normal for everyday life in Spain.
“As part of this scaled approach to the return to the new normal, Spain is looking to incorporate different levels of economic activity and sport is one of them.
“So, LaLiga, together with clubs and medical professionals, and in coordination with the health ministry and other government officials in Spain, have been coordinating very closely a series of protocols that allow football to resume while minimising the risk for players and participants.”
On how this will work, Pierce said: “You will have seen images this week of a number of LaLiga players returning to their training centres.
“This is part of an initial phase whereby all participants within squads are getting tested and making sure we know who may potentially have the infection or who may have already gone through a period of infection, and therefore potentially have immunity.
“From that point, that’s when players can begin to work individually. This is something that’s going to be taking place over the course of the next four weeks as we sort of transition from an initial testing phase to a phase whereby players will be doing individual work while still respecting social distancing.
Real Madrid’s players, including Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard, have reported to the club’s training ground for medical testing as part of preparations to resume the LaLiga season.
Italy – Serie A
The Italian government has given the permission for Serie A players to resume individual training at their club’s training grounds with group sessions set to be allowed from May 18.
The 20 Serie A clubs reiterated on May 1 in their general assembly meeting that there is a “unanimous will to finish the season” although the government will make a final decision.
Serie A has been suspended since March 9, when the government ordered a nationwide lockdown.
Twelve rounds remain in Serie A, plus four other games that were postponed from the 25th round.
The Italian Cup was suspended after the first leg of the semi-finals.
The move means that Serie A could potentially resume playing games in June, though Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said a decision on that will not be made until a later date.
Conte said the government will “work with experts” to monitor the situation and then later “evaluate whether there are the conditions to end the suspended championships”.
Conte also said that athletes will be free to resume training individually from May 4. That is the date when public parks and gardens will re-open and people will be able to visit relatives who live in the same region.
“Minister for Sport, Vincenzo Spadafora, will work alongside experts and the football league system to find a path that we have already started to define with individual training from May 4 and group sessions from May 18,” Conte said during a televised address.
“We will then evaluate if the conditions are in place to be able to complete the suspended leagues. If we do reach that conclusion, we’ll certainly do so while guaranteeing maximum safety measures.
“We love our footballing idols and don’t want them to get ill.”
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