Light at the end of the tunnel ?

 

Not sure that I can write too much as the situation is changing hourly and with the obvious priority being the health and well being of players, staff and supporters, but there does seem a genuine desire for sport to resume as soon as possible. Also, the EFL have openly stated that basically, in order to protect competition integrity , the primary objective is to deliver a successful conclusion to the 2019/20 season: "plans continue to be developed on the agreed principle that it is in the best interests of the EFL and clubs to complete the current season at the appropriate time." Other leagues have voiced similar intentions and I suspect that most will follow suit. That seems the only logical proposal to me, it is unfair to call a season null and void when 80% of fixtures have been played and football is going to resume at some stage, finish the current season and then, if need be, shorten the following campaign, at least then everyone knows the rules and situation beforehand, otherwise, the game is just going to be mired in legal action.

 

The Premier League is a breakaway entity which is governed separately and they have selfish objectives at times and can almost do what they want, but that doesn't prevent them being taken to court and, the prospect of  being asked to return almost £800m of television money appears to have got them singing from the same hymn book ! Some leagues might do things differently, but they are at very early stages of their season compared to Europe, for example, only one round has been played in J-League , two in MLS and Serie A in Brazil has not yet started. J-League has already announced the following: "clubs have agreed on no relegation this year, if  75% of the schedule is completed, the top 2 in J2 and J3 will automatically be promoted and, for the 2021 season JL-1 will be extended to 20 teams with four relegation spots, if 75% is not completed, there will be no promotions." That sounds fine and indicates they are keen to play this season and they also have a six week window they can use when football was scheduled to stop during the Tokyo Olympics, which now seems certain to be delayed one year.

 

"Training matches" have resumed in Japan btw which is very encouraging, Kashima Antlers played Consadole Sapporro on Saturday, behind closed doors of course, it was the first Antlers warm up game against another top flight team and was televised live on the DAZN streaming service. It seems that we might not be too far away from a restart in J-League, games everywhere, regardless of when they do get underway will be behind closed doors, with as many as possible being televised with staggered start times. This has the bonus of not only offering some light at the end of the tunnel and sense of normality returning, but providing entertainment for those at home under "lockdown". There were other reasons for optimism coming out of Japan and that is the re-opening of many soccer schools, academies, even cheerleading courses, starting tomorrow. I saw Vegalta Sendai who run a series of these at all levels, are reopening at six venues over the next three days and it is impossible not to see this as a positive move, as the option was there to just return to academic studies.

 

Good luck !