German Bundesliga to Resume Behind Closed Doors

It has been announced that the German Bundesliga will kick off once again behind closed doors on Saturday the 16th of May.

The German Football Association has outlined that the Bundesliga season will resume under the conditions that strict protocols are followed, including the implementation of regular Coronavirus testing for players, and immediate isolation in special accommodation for any member of a first-team squad that becomes infected with the disease.

The English Spanish and Italian top flights are also aiming to resume their respective seasons in mid-June, and have all drafted guidelines for clubs, as to how they can safely resume training ahead of a potential restart.

Other top European football leagues; such as the French Ligue 1 and the Dutch Eredivise, have already pulled the plug on the 2019-20 season.

Abandoning a season outright does however pose both financial and legal problems, for strong and weak teams alike.

In the former scenario; teams could be denied league titles, prize money, and Champions League places, whereas those who could be relegated would lose out on TV revenues going forward, and gate receipts, which could prove disastrous on many levels.

UEFA; Europe’s football governing body, has given its member states until the 25th of May to decide whether or not to resume play, and although others in addition to Germany have expressed optimism that they will be able to do so; it remains to be seen whether every top league in the continent has the capacity to shield its staff from the impact of the Coronavirus.