All the 20 Premier League clubs on a video call on Friday morning debated possible scheduling models to finish the 2019-20 season and have released another statement about the season with 92 fixtures still left to be played.
The season was suspended indefinitely last month, with a tentative plan to resume on April 30, and no date has yet been set now to restart the campaign, saying it ‘will only restart when medical guidance allows’ as some clubs have pushing to conclude the season by June 30 amid serious concerns over players’ contracts expiring on June 30.
The League is hopeful that the season can restart in the week beginning June 8, depending on advice from the government and a lifting of coronavirus restrictions. That was the overriding message from the video conference meeting on Friday.
It was also made clear that the 2020-21 season must kick off by the first week of September at the latest, which effectively exerts huge pressure on the Premier League to somehow make a decision over when the season can be completed and realistically this means they cannot resume playing later than July.
The clubs then discussed the issue of players returning to training, with a possible plan being for them working in pairs for an hour initially at the training ground after having changed clothes in their cars to minimise contact.
Clubs are expected to be told they will have three weeks from when the government gives the go-ahead for them to be allowed to train to playing matches, which would be behind closed doors.
It was also stressed that “all dates are tentative” and that at “possible schedule models” are being looked at, with the clear understanding that the League would indeed to struggle to complete the 2020-21 season if it started after the first week in September because of the other competitions that needed to be scheduled and the dates set for the next European Championship, starting on June 11, 2021.