Due to lockdown being imposed upon the world because of COVID-19, football and cricket, along with other sports have taken a huge hit.
With matches being cancelled and tournaments being postponed, players of every sport had to be taken off the field as a precaution.
But thankfully, with the situation getting a bit under control, football and cricket officials have decided to give the world a bit of hope by getting the players back on the field.
Football
After starving the world of football for almost 61 days because of the coronavirus lockdown, Bundesliga, the German football league has decided to resume. Fans all over the world are excited as they will finally be able to see their favourite football stars back on television.
Among the big 5 leagues of European football, Bundesliga is the first major league that is set to resume while other major leagues are looking forward to their return as well. Despite that, the news itself has given a lot of hope to the world, showing signs of a brighter day.
The elite German football league is set to return on May 16th, with players getting back on the field with all possible precautions.
“Everybody will watch the Bundesliga to see how the players are on the field and outside the field. Hopefully they will do it positively. A lot of our colleagues can participate in that — if everything works, the handbook, the plan, everything, we can give that to other federations and other sports.” – Fredi Bobic, Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director.
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With players training in masks and adhering to other social distancing norms when off the field, they have started training since April.
The German clubs were handed over an 11-point list of guidelines that they all had to stick to. The players were divided into small groups even during their training sessions.
After the idea of getting the postponed league back into play, the upcoming matches will be played behind closed doors.
With a maximum of 322 people allowed on the premises of the stadium, including the players, officials and staff members of the team and the league, this will be a completely different thing that the world will experience.
“Games without spectators are not what we want, but at the moment, the only thing that seems feasible”- Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert
Cricket
In the world of cricket, fans generally look forward to IPL during the summer days. But with the rapid increase of coronavirus cases in India, BCCI had to take the step of postponing the highly popular league until the situation gets a bit in control.
But with things finally getting better in Europe, the England Cricket Board (ECB) has taken a decision that will get all the cricket fans back in front of the TV.
With England set to play a home test series against West Indies and Pakistan, ECB has decided to resume the game with every possible precaution.
Reports are stating that the test series will be played only in two venues and that the matches will be held in ‘Biosecure’ venues. The test series will span over 9 weeks.
Accounting for injuries, fatigue and substitutes, around 30 players from ECB have been chosen to play this series.
The players will be made to stay together, away from their families, during these 9 weeks in specific hotels and facilities that are close to the two ‘Biosecure’ venues that ECB has enlisted.
As of now, there are no firm reports from ECB, but according to speculations, the tentative dates for the said camp to start will be 23rd June and the players will only be allowed after a COVID-19 test. The first test is reported to be played from 8th July where England will play against West Indies.
“We are working closely with the government to establish when and how it will be safe to resume play, and we look forward to sharing our plans as they progress,” – ECB official
Officials are hoping that-with the pandemic affecting countries all over the world, the return of two major sports, football and cricket, can give people a bit of hope and can be taken as a sign of upcoming better days.
Image Sources: Google Images
Sources: ICC, Cricbuzz, ESPN
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This post is tagged under: football matches, cricket matches, resume, sports world, tournaments, big sporting events in the world, lockdown coronavirus, covid 19, Bundesliga, test matches, English Cricket board
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