The coronavirus has brought every single facet of normal daily life to its knees worldwide. Sport has been especially hard hit with virtually all European football suspended.
However, the Premier League now plan to resume the 2019/2020 season on June 1st, which gives them time to complete the whole campaign before next season kicks-off. All games would be played behind closed doors.
The English football authorities recently agreed to suspend the professional game until the end of April. Now, reports suggest June is now a more likely month for completion of the schedule.
This decision must have been a well-informed one, having consulted government or medical experts. Most connected with the Premier League seem determined to complete the schedule, even if it means impacting the start of next season.
The problem for the Premier League like every other organisation is that they are at the mercy of something that can be negotiated with. This is a virus that has taken a vice-like grip in some countries, leading to lockdown in some other major European countries like Italy and Spain to name a few.
2️⃣3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ pieces of protective equipment donated to the local area 👏@Wolves are doing there bit for the people of Wolverhampton 🙌Read more ➡️ https://t.co/kvUVJfSixh pic.twitter.com/LPQeM5MJdn— Premier League Communities (@PLCommunities) March 22, 2020
2️⃣3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ pieces of protective equipment donated to the local area 👏@Wolves are doing there bit for the people of Wolverhampton 🙌Read more ➡️ https://t.co/kvUVJfSixh pic.twitter.com/LPQeM5MJdn
People are not currently following government advice and some of the scenes from England yesterday were ridiculous. If people do not follow medical advice and stay in their homes, the resumption of everyday life will keep getting further away, as the virus infects more people.
The truth is the Premier League are only making an educated guess at when their product will return and football fans can once again view English top-flight.
Understandably, there has been talk of the rest of the season being cancelled, which has also been discussed in other European countries.
However, it seems that the Premier League as an organisation are confident over the league’s return, even if the spread of coronavirus could well push that return date back again further into the year.