Since the giant pause button was hit since mid-March, football in England and the rest of the continent has been stalled indefinitely with all interested parties and fans globally waiting anxiously at home with bated breath for any semblance of reliable news from football authorities and the Government on what is realistic and feasible regarding resumption of the sport.
After all, Liverpool are still on the sidelines waiting to be crowned Premier League champions for the first time, the following season’s European competitors must be decided and the murkiness surrounding the relegation picture is still to be cleared.
UEFA are allowing all domestic seasons to ponder and decide their own fate, but are hopeful of concluding both continental competitions over the summer.
The slivers of light peeping through the once heavily brooding clouds above bode well as a number of Premier League clubs are already back at their training grounds including Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to give an update on the country’s lockdown status on Sunday, May 10 and, subsequently, the Premier League will proceed to discuss ‘Project Restart’ the following day.
In anticipation of good news, clubs have pre-empted a return to active football by recalling their players based overseas, such as Chelsea quartet Willian, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Pedro and Marcos Alonso among others.
The current Premier League plans, reliant on Government guidelines, will see all clubs step up to full contact training on May 25.
All Premier League clubs are hopeful of returning to action on Friday, June 12, as they prepare to embark on playing 92 games across a seven-week period ending by July 27.
With all games set to be played behind closed doors, football bosses are anxious for fans to have access to every game. Hence no two matches will be played simultaneously in what has been dubbed a ‘World Cup-style’ event.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said the return of the Premier League “would lift the spirits of the nation” and confirmed that a behind-closed-doors return is under “active consideration” by the government.
Sky Sports and BT Sport hold broadcasting rights to 47 of the final 92 games under their existing deals. According to reports, both broadcasters could use their YouTube channels to air games for free, while Amazon Prime has been touted as a potential third broadcaster.
As for the Champions League, there are 17 fixtures left in this season’s campaign with Uefa reportedly considering playing matches every three days during August.
European football’s governing body hopes to resume the Champions League and Europa League knockout stages on August 7.
Games would then be played twice a week, with the semi-finals held between August 18 and 22 before the final is hosted on August 29 in Istanbul.
The next Champions League season would then start in September after a short break.