Potential Asian football leagues return offer hope of normality

12/09/23 1967

The world of football has been at standstill in all parts of the world except a few select countries since early March. The resumption of football in western Europe, North America, and South America is unknown as COVID-19 spreads around the globe.

If there is a silver lining for football fans it could be found in Asia, the origin of the coronavirus. China, Japan, Korea, and Thailand could all restart their football leagues in the coming weeks as the coronavirus is controlled and limited in its spread.

Japan could be the leading light in terms of football. The country has not announced a state of emergency as yet, meaning football could return as planned.

May 9th is the date that has been set for the return of the J-League. The competition hadn’t even started before it was suspended in February. The J-League hoped to return on April 3rd, but with four more weeks off, the hope is football can officially resume. At the very least, it would be behind closed doors.

Although not as high-profile, Thailand hopes to start up the week before the J-League returns. May 3rd is the planned return of the Thai leagues and like Japan’s possible resumption of football, offers fans a chance to get back to normalcy.

Millions of people around the globe are prevented from leaving their homes and morale is certainly low for many of those shut away. Football’s return could be the perfect treatment at the moment to increase morale and to continue the fight against an invisible enemy.

The Chinese Super League had hoped to return in the coming weeks. However, the Chinese government, fearful over a second wave of coronavirus, has put a halt to the CSL’s immediate return.

CSL star Maroune Fellaini contracted the disease before returning to China to train with his club. It is the highest profile case of a footballer in China testing positive and it certainly played a part in the CSL’s further suspension.

Despite the continued suspension of the CSL, teams have returned to training in hopes that the football competition will start soon.

The Asian football leagues are far closer to resuming than those in Europe. The current UEFA Champions League and Europa League tournaments have been suspended indefinitely this week. Meanwhile, countries such as Spain and Italy are far from getting back to normal.

The J-League, Thai League, and even the K-League could be the first to return and give fans the chance to watch and wager on football once more.