The elite series is postponed until the first weekend of May – VG

This is confirmed by the Norwegian Football Association on its own website. The start of the series of the three best leagues in the country for men and the two best for women thus begins the first weekend of May, with the main round of the Elite Series on Sunday, May 2.

From what VG understands, the plan is to keep the original party setup.

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– We are well aware that in a demanding situation with a growing infection in some parts of the country, football should help reduce travel activity. Therefore, we postpone all games in the series until May. The dialogue with the authorities is good, but the signals we have received are clearly in the direction that it is too early to open up. To create predictability, football now takes note of this and postpones the launch. Under the prevailing circumstances, the initial start-up is premature, says NFF’s competition department head Nils Fisketjønn.

The elite series was supposed to start on April 5 and end on November 28. The postponement leads to problems with the implementation of the season.

– In the next week, the details of the series game will be considered in more detail, including how the final game, qualifying game and NM will take place, says Fisketjønn.

– take responsibility

To start the series, players rely on three to four weeks of normal training, according to NFF.

The Minister of Culture and Gender Equality, Abid Q. Raja, pays tribute to football for assuming social responsibility.

– We have had a good ongoing dialogue with the sport, and I am glad that the Norwegian Football Association has found a solution to get the series started in world-class football. In the situation we find ourselves in, it shows responsibility and contributes to greater predictability for clubs. There are many of us who look forward to the start of the series, but it is equally important that we get and keep the infection under control, and today’s decision shows that the sport continues to take responsibility, as they have since the pandemic hit Norway. . last year, says the minister.

In a meeting with the clubs on Friday, it will be discussed what it will be like with training matches in Norway in the future.

– The most important thing now is to create predictability for our clubs and our players. Now we hope that the contagion situation stabilizes and that, together with men’s football, we can once again offer people first-rate football at the beginning of May. We are looking forward to that, says Hege Jørgensen, general manager of Toppfotball Kvinner.

See more Elite Series stats on VG Live.