It has been a path full of thorn for the last 3-4 months the world has passed through. The situation is arguably the darkest phase in history. The only thing that may beat this situation is the two World Wars that human civilization has witnessed. It looks like the world has come to a standstill. Nevertheless, there is a ray of hope at the end of the tunnel. The entire world will be grateful forever to the people combating from the frontline like the doctors, medical staff, polices, and all essential service providers. The world is trying to come back to normalcy while still fighting one of the fiercest battles.

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Similarly, the football world is no exception to that. The think tank of all league organizers and international authorities are leaving no stone unturned to bring the sports back on track. They are desperate to resume the competitions, which are under no action since March. However, the individual league organizers are reacting according to their respective countries’ situations, and of course, the government norms. The premier league officials are having brainstorming sessions to chalk out the resumption plan of the league. The honorable Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has announced to ease down the lockdown restriction from June 1. However, the football has not received any green signal for restart. The league shareholders are aiming to return on June 12 with compliance with government guidelines. However, the project is facing a fierce challenge from top clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham as they have opposed to play the remaining fixtures in neutral venue. According to some specific sources, the officials have scrapped this idea and are thinking to start the games in regular stadiums. The players and coaches will also have their final say as the Project Restart will never swing in action without the players’ and coaches’ consents. The league officials want the Premier League to return with a seven-week window to wind up. With the situation evolving every day in this vuca world, it is difficult to predict the date of return. Since the suspension in March, Liverpool is all set to be crowned as the champion. However, their dream to lift the coveted trophy in front of the jam-packed stand in Anfield is very much gone as the chance of matches to be played in home ground is uncertain and turning up of fans are prohibited till further update.

Messi returned to Barca Training with mask on

On the other hand, La Liga President Javier Tebas is hopeful to see Spanish football resuming from June 12 with matches to be played every day. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is also on the same page as the country is trying to restart their economy, and football is no different to that. Tebas, after an eight-hour-long meeting with the President of the Spanish Federation, Luis Rubiales, has managed to draft a four-phase protocol to return to action. The players will undergo detailed COVID-19 testing, including polymerase chain reaction and serology tests. Once the session resumes, the players are subjected to serology antibody tests every day, which is followed by the starting of individual training with their masks on while still respecting social distancing. Then the teams will be divided into small groups for training and will be quarantined in the closed hotel dedicated to the players and gradually end up with full team training. These phases will be implemented over a period of four weeks. Any individual with symptoms of the disease will be isolated at the earliest. The teams like Barcelona, Sevilla have already hit the training ground. As of now, The Blaugrana have a slender lead of two points over their archrival Los Blancos.

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Among all of these leagues, the most positive news came out in the last week when German Football League announced to restart the league from May 16. But the restart plan faced huge blow just before a week of the restart when a player from Dynamo Dresden has been detected positive of COVID-19. The entire squad is quarantined. Amidst all of these hurdles, the CEO of Bundesliga is very much adamant about sticking to the plan. Now the whole world will be eying on the next step of the organizer. The Bayern Munich will start their journey to defend the championship title with a lead of four points over Borussia Dortmund.

Football behind closed door

If we turn towards Italy, one of the most-hit countries due to the outbreak of COVID-19, is preparing to put their baby step towards the restart. Some of the players have returned with the initiation of individual training with social distancing norms. The training with the full squad is due to begin from May 18 subject approval of medical protocol from Football Federation’s medical team. The officials are searching deep in their arsenal to find a suitable plan to take the football back in the people’s life after the troublesome 3-4 months.
On the restart of European football, there is not concrete update from the officials. The club president of Lyon has dropped a hint that their return leg may be held in Juve’s Allianz Stadium on August 7. The fans are waiting as a Jacobin Cuckoo waits for the first drop of rain to quench its thirst.
Now, it looks like we are about to dodge the cannonball of suspending the major league. However, if we see on the other side of the coin, Dutch Eredivisie has been canceled without any promotion, relegation, and champion after Dutch Govt. banned all kinds of sports until September 1. French League 1 has also followed the same path.
Now with all these planning about to roll, playing the matches in front of the fans is a far-fetched idea as the chances of fans turning up in the stands are not possible in any near future. The games will be played behind the closed door under strict medical surveillance. The teams, having a history of home advantage, are adamant against this plan. Nevertheless, considering the COVID situation, it may be the only safest option for a considerable time ahead. The match between Atlanta and Valencia FC just before the suspension of the Champions League is stated to be the biological bomb responsible for the outbreak of this pandemic.

Football is battling hard against COVID-19

There is some mixed reaction about the return of the leagues as some individuals think that it is too soon to restart the football. Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora or London Mayor Sadiq Khan resisted the idea of starting the leagues. The world economy is already crashed due to this pandemic, and it is a desperate attempt to revive the economy or, more precisely, a damage control approach. The PL clubs have proposed for 30% pay cut for the next 12 months. When some have rejected the proposal, a few teams like Arsenal, have accepted a 12.5% pay cut. In Barcelona, Lionel Messi and his fellow teammates have agreed for a staggering 70% pay cut to ensure other employees' full salary and less pressure on the economy. With all the matches are expected to be played in front of the empty stand, the revenue from the gate receipts have to be forgone. In the last season, Premier league earned around €723m from gate receipt (13% of the total revenue), where Spanish Laliga and German Bundesliga has made €555m (18% of the total revenue) and €511m (16% of the total revenue) respectively. Apart from these breath-taking figures, the league officials have already sold the television rights to different channels and been fully paid. The TV channels are expecting some refund due to the suspension of the matches. Now even if the league restarts, the league official is braced for a colossal loss from television rights. The loss for the Premier League with the Project Restart rolls on is estimated at around €340m, which may be surged up to €760m if the season is scrapped altogether. The French League has already taken a loan of €225m to compensate for lost television income after the decision of a premature end to the football season. Hence, it is clear the league organizers are trying to curb the financial losses and to restore normalcy in people's life by bringing back football. To quote Dr. Michel D'Hooghe, chairman of the FIFA Medical Committee, "Football has to be patient." The world is patiently progressing towards the restart of football, arguably the most significant entertainment in life. 

Image Source : 
https://en.as.com/en/2020/05/06/football/1588780122_347216.html
https://princerupertstower.com/2020/04/04/everton-premier-league-suspended/
https://www.tudn.com/futbol/para-enmarcar-las-postales-del-futbol-en-europa-fotos