The UK government have opened the door for a June football return according to BBC Sport. Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary said that the FA, Premier League and English National League have progressed plans.
However, England chief medical officer has stated that any return should be slow and measured. Premier League chiefs met on Monday to discuss Project Restart and a return on June 12th is looking possible providing games are behind closed doors. Dowden said, “We all agreed that we will only go ahead if it is safe to do so and the health and welfare of players, coaches and staff comes first,”. He continued, “It is now up to the football authorities to agree and finalise the detail of their plans, and there is combined goodwill to achieve this for their fans, the football community and the nation as a whole”.
Not much training has been done under the current restrictions. The BBC report that Premier League bosses hope that team training can be conducted once strict guidelines are adhered to next week. John Van Tam Deputy Chief Medical Officer said on this, “There will be small, carefully measured, step-wise approaches to see what can be achieved safely. The first of those is to return safely to training, still observing social distancing”.
Brighton soccer manager Graham Potter however is still wary of a return to playing/training. This comes after the news that three Brighton players tested positive for Covid 19. He said “It’s a complex situation”. He said it’s difficult to call from one day to next on what will happen. “It will be as safe as it is made to be. The challenge will be when [we have] contact, larger groups and different teams. We need to see where we are on Monday and then Tuesday he said”.
In other footballing news clubs will now be allowed to agree short term contracts. This is on players whose deals run out on June 30th. BBC report that clubs now have until June 23rd to agree extensions.
