European football has a week of meetings about the future; see situation of the main leagues | international football

UEFA said on Tuesday it had presented the 55 national federations that make up the entity. The probable options to return to soccer in the continent, at club and team level, with a strong recommendation to complete first division competitions and interrupted national cups, respecting the particular situation of each country in relation to the pandemic. This Thursday’s meeting is expected to bring more specific decisions about the season.

Interrupted in the round of 16, with four games to play in this phase, the The UEFA Champions League still needs 17 dates to close (see the competition table). The Europa League, also paralyzed in the round of 16, is 23 games away. (See table). Together, the six main national leagues in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and Portugal) I still have 600 games to play, in addition to 17 of the respective national cups, all in the final stretch.

But the big difference between the health situation of European countries in the fight against Covid-19 makes it more difficult to make a uniform decision about the end of the season. Germany, for example, with 143,000 cases and 4,500 deaths, is already making plans to return to the Bundesliga in the first and second divisions, with closed doors, in May, while Italy (181,000 cases and 24,000 deaths) and Spain (200,000 cases and 20 thousand deaths) are still far from being able to predict the return of football.

+ German politicians support the return of the Bundesliga games in May, with no audience in the stadiums
+ The Netherlands bans major events until September, and the league will discuss the end of the season with UEFA

Very different scenarios can have consequences for the closure of European cups and also for the start of the next season. What use is it for Germany to finish its championships in July and for its clubs to continue competing in continental competitions? Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in the Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League. from other countries to return to activities?

The same concern implies next season: what to do if some countries don’t finish their current competitions before August, when the 2020/21 calendar of European football should start? In addition to the sports issue, national clubs and federations are also looking for solutions to mitigate the economic effects of the no-game period, which includes uncertainty about the TV broadcasting quotas of the championships. In addition to the loss of income already recorded, it is known that the return will not bring as much relief to the coffers of the clubs, since the games will be played with closed doors.

Take a look at the situation in the main national leagues in Europe:

The DFL meeting this Thursday can confirm that the project will return to games in May, probably on the 9th. The players have already been released to re-train in their clubs, but only in small groups and still respecting the rules of health and distance. Social

Remaining games: 82 of the Bundesliga + 3 of the German Cup

+ See the complete table of the German Championship

The country’s situation in relation to Covid-19, until April 22, according to the WHO:

• 143,457 confirmed cases (1,785 in the last 24 hours)
• 4,598 deaths (194 in the last 24 hours)

The country with the most coronavirus deaths in Europe at the moment, Italy is still far from being a solution to end its football season. Eight first-division clubs, seven of them from the north, the region most affected by the disease, even considered the Italian’s early closure, but returned and accepted the proposal of the others to try at any cost to finish the championship on the field, even if you need to play until after June. This Wednesday, the leaders of the Italian Federation and the Serie A League will meet with government representatives for guidelines to try to return to training in May, within the health safety standards required by the Ministry of Health. . It is uncertain.

+ The newspaper publishes the committee’s protocol for clubs to resume training from May 4

Remaining games: 124 Italians + 3 Italians

+ See the complete table of the Italian Championship

The country’s situation in relation to Covid-19, until April 22, according to the WHO:

• 181,228 confirmed cases (2,256 in the last 24 hours)
• 24,114 deaths (454 in the last 24 hours)

After consulting the captains of 42 teams in the Spanish first and second division, the Spanish Association of Footballers said Tuesday that it is against the suggestion of the League to create training camps where the teams would be confined in order to return to the activities. Spain is the country with the most cases of Covid-19 in Europe (200 thousand) and the second in number of deaths on the continent (20.8 thousand). Although a return to training is not yet forecast, La Liga and the Spanish Federation reinforced the desire for the championships to be closed.

Remaining games: 111 of the Spaniards + 1 of the Copa del Rey

+ See the complete table of the Spanish Championship

The country’s situation in relation to Covid-19, until April 22, according to the WHO:

• 200,210 confirmed cases (4,266 in the last 24 hours)
• 20,852 deaths (399 in the last 24 hours)

According to the English press, the current forecast is that players should not return to training until the end of May. There is still no probable date for the restart of the Premier League, but the current situation indicates that there will be hardly any matches before mid-June.

+ Amnesty alerts Premier League about Newcastle sale to Saudi Arabia fund

Remaining games: 92 Premier League + 7 FA Cup

+ See the complete table of the English Championship

UK situation regarding Covid-19, as of April 22, according to WHO:

• 124,747 confirmed cases (4,676 in the last 24 hours)
• 16,509 deaths (449 in the last 24 hours)

From France comes the most controversial suggestion about the return of football: this week, the president of Lyon, Jean-Michel Aulas, said in an interview with the newspaper “L’Equipe” that he supports the idea that the season return only in September , finishing the championship. in November. According to the Lessons proposal, the new season would be played throughout the year 2021. He justifies the change by stating that the next World Cup, in Qatar, will be played in November and December 2022, which would allow a provisional adjustment of the calendar of European Football For now, the players of the French clubs still cannot train together, even in small groups, and the last scheduled date for the return of the championship, still pending the evolution of the pandemic in the country, is 17 June.

+ PSG negotiates salary cuts and the president says that the players “know their responsibilities”

Remaining games: French 101 + 1 French Cup + 1 French League Cup

+ See the complete table of the French Championship

The country’s situation in relation to Covid-19, until April 22, according to the WHO:

• 113,513 confirmed cases (2,050 in the last 24 hours)
• 20,233 deaths (544 in the last 24 hours)

Some clubs are already training, with health and distance restrictions between players. In Sporting, for example, only two players can participate in each activity, each in the middle of the field. Benfica, for example, gave the team a 15-day vacation until the end of this week. However, there is still no definitive date for the return of the Portuguese Championship.

+ On vacation, but without stopping training: Gabriel, from Benfica, keeps the routine at home waiting for the games to return

Remaining games: 90 of Portuguese + 1 of the Portuguese Cup

+ See the complete table of the Portuguese Championship

The country’s situation in relation to Covid-19, until April 22, according to the WHO: