The English Premier League is set to return on June 17, according to Jason Burt of The Telegraph. Clubs have reportedly agreed on this start date in the latest step in Project Restart. The first game back will be Sheffield United’s trip to relegation-threatened Aston Villa before a full round of fixtures follows on June 19 and 20.
This news follows yesterday’s announcement that clubs are allowed to resume contact training. The league has been desperately trying to find a pathway to resume the season since it was put on hold due to COVID-19.
Premier League to Return on June 17
What Does This Mean for the Premier League?
Financial incentives have been key to the Premier League’s push to resume. Cancelling games could cost the league at least £1 billion, said chief executive Richard Masters.
The June 17 date also means that clubs have three weeks to get their squads ready for the restart of the season.
The league was hoping to resume on June 12, but managers protested that they wouldn’t have enough time to get their squads ready.
Players have been inactive since mid-March. It’s impossible to determine how long it will take for them to reach match fitness again.
In addition, not every club has returned to contact training following yesterday’s announcement. Some are waiting for more COVID-19 testing before resuming.
In the third round of testing, there were four positive cases out of 1,008. The fourth round will take place on Thursday and Friday.
Players will continue to get tested twice a week as safeguarding for the coronavirus.
While play will resume on June 17, it will be behind closed doors. Letting fans into the stadium is seen as too risky due to the ongoing pandemic.
The Players’ Reactions
In a win for the Premier League, it seems that they have gotten one of their most vocal critics onside.
Watford Captain Troy Deeney refused to return to training. He feared exposing his son, who has breathing problems, to COVID-19.
However, he seems to have changed his mind after a conversation with the government’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathon Van-Tam.
“Jonathan is doing really well, again, not only answering questions. He has also been honest enough to say at times: ‘I don’t have the answer’, said the striker to CNN Sports.
“The first conversation I had with Jonathan was maybe three weeks ago. The last conversation we had was on Friday and he had so much more information, so much more detailed analysis.
“So it just filled me with confidence that he’s trying his best to make sure that we have all the information. The risk factor will be down to players.”
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