Coronavirus may have kept fans away from games but the Premier League is on a reset to start again soon within a few short weeds with Pime Minister Boris Johnson having already been briefed on the plans for the games to be shown on TV for free, with the expectation that matches will be played behind closed doors, as expected.
Players have been in self-isolation since the onslaught of the pandemic brought on a suspension with the last game being played on Monday, March 9 when Leicester trounced Aston Villa 4-0. The good news is that a return to training next month has been targeted and it now appears Premier League football will be back on TV screens as soon as May.
The priority is now on getting the Premier League season finished as this would allow the transfer window to open, says The Sun, and would subsequently enable money to to flow in again.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told MPs earlier this week: “I think the financial reality for most clubs is their biggest source of income is the direct transfers they get from the Premier League.
“So if we got that running in some way behind closed doors then that would relieve the pressure on all other clubs.”
The Government’s viewpoint is that sport is considered one of the first activities that can return soonest after the coronavirus lockdown due to it being simple to control compared to reopening pubs or cinemas.
The next lockdown review is due on Thursday, May 7, with health measures such as player safety needing to be addressed.
But a Whitehall source is said to have told The Sun: “We want live sport back on TV as soon as we can. We have much still to do in the fight against the spread of this virus.”
Dowden has already urged the Premier League to consider streaming matches on terrestrial channels in order to avoid football fans congregating as it is feared people could gather at the homes of friends if matches were only available on Sky Sports or BT Sport.
Another option that’s also being considered are extended highlights, with club websites being used to also show games.
Should the Government give the Premier League clearance within a fortnight’s time, at least two weeks of training would be needed to get the players back up to the required fitness levels.