The swing of the Coronavirus pandemic pendulum is being felt with death tolls rising all over the world and its debilitating side effects are gravely impacting football and sports in general.
The easiest option is obviously to declare a season null and void but that might not be the best way to going to solve the problem.
Hanging with uncertainty in the balance are key club issues like promotion, relegation, contracts, broadcast revenues, to name a few main ones. Which is why football’s governing bodies are so determined to play the season out.
April and May have always been the months when the football leagues across the continent reach the penultimate climax but, due to the lockdown imposed by almost every country, it is still a huge question mark whether football can be resumed at all any time soon.
While on the one hand the players themselves have stood up to the challenge to are try their best to help their colleagues and others in need, football clubs are finding it a daily struggle to minimize the crippling financial impact from revenue loss.
The two months of absence has already adversely affected the high running operational costs.
Europe’s most prestigious competitions, namely the Champions League and Europa League, have been halted with a total of 40 matches remaining.
In the Premier League, a total of nine matches are left to be played. It is the same with the Bundesliga. The Ligue 1 has 10 games remaining, while La Liga and Serie A have 11 and 12 games left to be played.
According to the Guardian, Premier League clubs are planning to resume the season on the weekend of 13-14 June.
Reportedly they are aiming to finish the competitions by 31 July to leave August clear for the completion of the Champions League and Europa League. However, the league is concerned about the worst-case scenario given the unpredictability of the pandemic.
Last game played: March 9
Current target date to resume: June 6
Will season be voided? Leagues are committed to finishing
Financial cost to league: $1.25 billion (£1bn) if cancelled
In Spain’s La Liga, the leagues are working on three scenarios depending on what happens over the next few weeks.
ESPN reports that the first plan is to start around May 28 and the games will be played in June, every 72 hours behind closed doors.
The second option is to start around June 6, where domestic and European competitions are played together in one block and the season finishes at the end of July.
All the games will be played behind closed doors.
Third case scenario: June 28
La Liga will take the whole month of July and August to complete the season.
Last game played: March 10
Current target date to resume: Three scenarios proposed
Will the season be voided? Leagues are committed to finishing
Financial cost to league: $1.808bn (£870m) if the season isn’t completed, $381m (£305m) if it’s completed behind closed doors, $163m (£130m) if it’s completed with fans in attendance.