Soccer (football)

MLS comes back among COVID-19 concerns [UPDATE]

All 26 Major League Soccer clubs are going to take part in MLS is Back Tournament kicking off on July 8 and running until the final on August 11. Learn more with STATSCORE!

MLS comes back among COVID-19 concerns

UPDATE 05/07/2020, 5:12 PM CET

The competition will resume in a tournament format at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida.

Unfortunately, it cannot be guaranteed that the competition will be completed as planned, due to COVID-19 cases among players. The league has already announced that it had to postpone the match between FC Dallas and the Vancouver Whitecaps until a later, undisclosed date, after the Dallas team had been hit hard by a series of positive tests for the virus.

The league suspended its season on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

MLS is Back groups

Group A (Eastern Conference)
1. Orlando City SC
2. Inter Miami CF
3. New York City FC
4. Philadelphia Union
5. Chicago Fire FC
6. Nashville SC

Group B (Western Conference)
1. Seattle Sounders FC
2. FC Dallas
3. Vancouver Whitecaps
4. San Jose Earthquakes

Group C (Eastern Conference)
1. Toronto FC
2. New England Revolution
3. Montreal Impact
4. D.C. United

Group D (Western Conference)
1. Real Salt Lake
2. Sporting Kansas City
3. Colorado Rapids
4. Minnesota United FC

Group E (Eastern Conference)
1. Atlanta United FC
2. FC Cincinnati
3. New York Red Bulls
4. Columbus Crew SC

Group F (Western Conference)
1. LAFC
2. LA Galaxy
3. Houston Dynamo
4. Portland Timbers

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Football in France to resume in July

UPDATE 28/06/2020, 8:40 PM CET

The French Football Federation (FFF) has announced that the postponed Cup of France and the League Cup finals will be played on July 24 and 31 respectively.

The Coupe de France (Cup of France) final will be the first official professional game in France since play was halted in March. The match between Paris Saint-Germain and Saint-Etienne will take place on July 24.

PSG will then contest the Coupe de la Ligue final against Lyon on July 31.

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Women’s football is the first team sport to come back in the US!

UPDATE 28/06/2020, 5:12 PM CET

National Women’s Soccer League has become the first American team sport to resume amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Football (or soccer) is back in the USA, as the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) became the first team sports league in the country to resume play since the start of the pandemic. The 23-game NWSL Challenge Cup is a monthlong tournament hosted by Utah Royals FC and is contested by eight teams.

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Champions League and Europa League to be played as mini-tournaments

UPDATE 18/06/2020, 10:32 AM CET

Lisbon will host the Champions League knockout tournament contested among the top eight teams between August 12 and 23.

Some of the participating teams are still to be decided, as the second-legs four games (Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Bayern Munich vs Chelsea, Juventus vs Lyon, and Barcelona vs Napoli) remain to be played. UEFA is yet to specify whether these ties will be hosted at the home grounds or at neutral venues.

2019/20 UEFA Champions League schedule

7-8 August: Round of 16 second-legs (venues to be confirmed)
12-15 August: Quarter-finals (Lisbon)
18-19 August: Semi-finals (Lisbon)
23 August: Final (Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon)

The Europa League final tournament will start on August 10, after the remaining last-16 games are played on 5 and 6 August.

A decision is pending on whether the round of 16 second-legs will take place at the home team’s stadium or in Germany. The ties where the first leg was also postponed – namely Inter vs Getafe and Sevilla vs Roma – will be played as a single leg at a venue to be confirmed.

The tournament will be held across four cities in Germany: Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen. All these games will be single-leg fixtures.

2019/20 UEFA Europa League schedule

5–6 August: Round of 16 (venues to be confirmed)
10–11 August: Quarter-finals (Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen)
16–17 August: Semi-finals (venues to be confirmed)
21 August: Final (Cologne)

The competitions had to be suspended in March due to the Covid-19 crisis.

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Premier League resumes this Wednesday!

UPDATE 14/06/2020, 07:32 PM CET

Aston Villa vs Sheffield United followed by Manchester City vs Arsenal – these will be the first games held after the English Premier League’s resumption.

English football fans had to wait 99 days for this moment! One of the world’s greatest leagues will be back this Wednesday, and from that moment on, games will be played every day of the week to make sure that the competition is over by August 2 (UEFA’s deadline).

Liverpool FC is the leader with a 25-point advantage over Manchester City.

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Calcio is back with Coppa Italia semifinals!

UPDATE 12/06/2020, 09:51 AM CET

Football is returning to Italy, one of the countries to have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Serie A is scheduled to restart on June 20, but before that happens we will be able to enjoy the second legs of the Italian Cup semi-finals.

The first game, to be held on Friday, will be Juventus vs. AC Milan. The first leg was played three months ago at San Siro, and it ended with a 1-1 draw.

The second match, scheduled for Saturday, will be Napoli vs. Inter. The first leg saw Napoli win 1-0.

The final of Coppa Italia is scheduled for June 17 at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

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La Liga is back

UPDATE 12/06/2020, 07:26 AM CET

This will be a very special weekend for football fans around the world as one of the best football leagues, the Spanish La Liga has resumed its season!

The first match after the resumption (on June 11) saw Sevilla beat Real Betis 2-0 in the derby of Seville. The fans had been waiting for this moment for three months since La Liga was suspended on March 10 due to the pandemic.

This weekend will also see the leaders FC Barcelona in action (on Saturday). Real Madrid will play its game on Sunday.

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La Liga to resume on June 11!

UPDATE 29/05/2020, 3:20 PM CET

Spanish football is coming back soon! La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas, said that the season will resume on June 11.

The first game to restart the campaign could be a derby between Real Betis and Sevilla. All the matches would be played behind closed doors.

It has also been confirmed that the next season of the league will start on September 12.

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Serie A  gets green light to restart

UPDATE 29/05/2020, 11:30 AM CET

Serie A will make a comeback on June 20 after an agreement was reached on Thursday between league authorities and the government. 

The decision has been officially confirmed by the Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora.

“The restart of football represents a message of hope for the whole country. I’m happy and satisfied, it is a success that I share with the Minister for Sport Spadafora and with all the federal counterparts”, said Gabriele Gravina, president of the FIGC (Italian Football Federation).

Serie A has been suspended since March 10.

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Premier League to come back on June 17!

UPDATE 28/05/2020, 09:30 PM CET

The English Premier League is on its way back! The season is set to return on June 17 after the clubs accepted “Project Restart” at a shareholders’ meeting on Thursday.

One of the top leagues in the world will try to complete the 2019-20 campaign that had to be suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus crisis. All the games will be held behind closed doors and with social distancing rules in place.

Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, said: “Today we have provisionally agreed to resume the Premier League on Wednesday 17 June. But this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all participants and supporters is our priority”.

Manchester City – Arsenal and Aston Villa – Sheffield United will be the first fixtures played after the resumption.

In total, there remain 92 games to be played this season.

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Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia resumed their seasons

UPDATE 25/05/2020, 09:05 PM CET

Football competitions keep coming back to play! Leagues in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia and Armenia have restarted.

Here’s the updated list of European countries in which leagues are already back:

  • Belarus (didn’t suspend its league)
  • Faroe Islands
  • Germany
  • Czech Republic
  • Hungary
  • Estonia
  • Armenia

Outside of Europe, football is back in South Korea, Costa Rica, Vietnam, Burundi, Turkmenistan, and Taiwan.

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Serie A resumption postponed until June 14

UPDATE 19/05/2020, 3:40 PM CET

The Italian soccer federation (FIGC) has announced that the league’s season will not be restarted before June 15.

According to the official statement, which appeared on the FIGC’s website, the decision was made following the decree signed on May 17 by the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The decree implements “urgent measures to contain the contagion throughout the national territory”.

Earlier there had been hopes that the Seria A could resume on June 13. The country’s top-flight has been on hold since March 9 due to the coronavirus crisis.

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La Liga is back to group training

UPDATE 19/05/2020, 1:59 PM CET

Spanish clubs playing in the top two divisions of the country’s league system are back training in groups of up to 10 players, La Liga has confirmed.

Group training marks a new step in the leagues ‘Return to Training’ plan, which had earlier allowed individual training.

“I’m very proud of the Bundesliga. It wasn’t easy. They were the first to get up and running and they’re an example to follow” said Javier Tebas, La Liga president.

La Liga’s authorities expressed hopes that the league could resume full training and matches in the coming weeks, though no specific dates have been confirmed yet.

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Premier League clubs resume team training

UPDATE 19/05/2020, 1:15 PM CET

Some English Premier League clubs have resumed training in small groups today, as the competition aims to resume the 2019/2020 season.

The return of the league seems closer than ever on Monday following a virtual meeting between clubs and shareholders yesterday.

Strict medical protocols of the highest standard will ensure everyone returns to training in the safest environment possible. The health and wellbeing of all participants is the Premier League’s priority, and the safe return to training is a step-by-step process – reads the official statement from the league.

Today some of the teams have started group training while maintaining social distancing. Contact training is not yet permitted.

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Bundesliga is back!

UPDATE 17/05/2020, 10:10 PM CET

It’s been a very special weekend for football fans, as one of the world’s top leagues, German Bundesliga, resumed its season.

It was eerily quiet at the stadiums, and players expected to follow specific restrictions during the games (though some celebrations seemed to defy them), but the Bundesliga managed to kick off this weekend! In one of the most anticipated matches, Borussia Dortmund have beaten Schalke 4-0.

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Will Serie A come back on June 13?

UPDATE 14/05/2020, 2:30 PM CET

Serie A clubs have voted to resume the season on June 13. This decision is subject to the Italian government’s approval.

Sere A’s general assembly, organised in the form o a videoconference, has approved the date for season resumption.

Regarding the resumption of sporting activity, in accordance with the decisions of the Government and in compliance with the medical protocols to protect players and all involved personnel, the date of June 13 has been indicated for the resumption of the league, the Serie A statement reads.

12 full rounds and four outstanding matches remain to be played.

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Czech League to resume on May 23

UPDATE 13/05/2020, 9:10 AM CET

Czech football will restart on Saturday, May 23, with a game between Teplice and Liberec, which will be the completion of the 23rd round of games.

The season will continue without spectators until July 18, with the possibility of extension until August 2.

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Meanwhile, Belarusian league has decided for the first time during the crisis to postpone a match due to COVID-19 outbreak in FC Minsk’s first-team squad.

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Serie A teams will start training from May 18

UPDATE 12/05/2020, 12:14 PM CET

Italian government has decided that Seria A clubs will be allowed to resume team training from May 18.

Last week the teams were allowed to start individual training while respecting social distancing rules.

The league’s season has been suspended since March 9. It is still not known whether Serie A will be allowed to complete it.

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Is Premier League coming back in June?

UPDATE 12/05/2020, 09:40 AM CET

United Kingdom government presented a road map to emerge from the lockdown measures on Monday.

The plan includes “permitting cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors for broadcast while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact.”

According to the plan, first professional sports leagues could restart on June 1. There still remain 92 Premier League fixtures to be played this season.

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Which leagues are coming back? Here are our updated maps!

UPDATE 11/05/2020, 11:40 AM CET

Faroe Islands’ league has restarted its season. Belarus keeps playing. Who’s coming back next?

Here’s the current situation in Europe:

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It’s a great day for football. K-League is back!

UPDATE 08/05/2020, 11:48 AM CET

Korean football league returns today. It is one of the first leagues in the world to resume its season during the coronavirus pandemic.

The opening match will have defending champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung at Jeonju World Cup Stadium. K LEAGUE is live-streaming the game worldwide on this youtube channel.

It’s official – Bundesliga resumes on May 16

UPDATE 07/05/2020, 10:10 PM CET

It has been officially confirmed that the German Bundesliga will resume its season on Saturday, May 16. All the games will be held without fans.

Bundesliga will be the first top European football league to make a comeback during the coronavirus pandemic.

The competition will start with a bang, as Borussia Dortmund and Schalke will kick off the Revierderby at 15:30!

Other games on May 16:

FC Augsburg – Wolfsburg
Fortuna Dusseldorf – SC Paderborn 07
Hoffenheim – Hertha Berlin
RB Leipzig – SC Freiburg
Eintracht Frankfurt – M’gladbach

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State of play in Europe – which leagues are coming back?

Football in Europe is slowly coming back to life. Let’s take a closer look at possible resumption dates in different countries.

UPDATE 06/05/2020, 4:15 PM

Confirmed or probable return:

  • Faroe Islands – Premier League – May 9,
  • Germany – Bundesliga – May 15,
  • Hungary – Nemzeti Bajnokság I – May 23,
  • Denmark – Superliga – May 29,
  • Poland – Ekstraklasa – May 29,
  • Portugal – Primeira Liga – May 30,
  • Czech Republic – Fortuna Liga – June 8,
  • Sweden – Allsvenskan – June 14.

Possible return:

  • Serbia – SuperLiga – late May/early June,
  • Italy – Serie A – June 2,
  • Greece – Super League – June 6/7,
  • England – Premier League – June 8,
  • Switzerland –  Super League – June 8,
  • Turkey – Super Lig – June 12,
  • Ukraine – Premier League – June 13,
  • Spain – La Liga – first half of June.

Season finished or cancelled:

  • France – Ligue 1,
  • Belgium – First Division A,
  • The Netherlands – Eredivisie,
  • Scotland – Premiership.

League that keeps playing:

  • Belarus – Vyšejšaja Liha

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Bundesliga to resume on May 15!

UPDATE 05/05/2020, 3:30 PM

Germany’s top football league is expected to come back in 10 days!

According to Reuters,  the German government is going to give the green light for the league’s resumption on Wednesday, when the chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a teleconference with state leaders.

The matches would be held without an audience, and under strict conditions, such as frequent testing.

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Leagues that kept playing despite the virus

As we all know, the coronavirus outbreak has caused the suspension or cancellation of almost all pro football leagues around the world.

In fact, there remained only several of them that kept playing despite everything, including Belarusian Premier League, Taiwan Football Premier League and Liga Primera de Nicaragua. Tajikistan also kept its league running for a long time, but it has just been suspended.

The good news is that some leagues are now setting up realistic plans to come back! In fact, Turkmenistan has already rebooted its league, and even allowed fans to come to the stadium!

South Korean league kicks off on May 8!

K-League has officially announced that the delayed kick-off of its season will take place on May 8. The opening match of the 2020 K-League season, which was originally scheduled for February 29, will be played between defending champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings. No fans will be allowed on the stadiums.

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The league had been suspended in February, when the country went into lockdown because of the pandemic. In South Korea, there have been over 240 deaths related to the virus. Now, however, the country is among the first in the world to bring the outbreak under control.

Will German Bundesliga resume on May 9?

German Bundesliga could be the first major football competition to resume its season! It’s authorities declare the league is ready to restart, but everything depends on political decisions.

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“If we start on 9 May, we are ready. If it is later, we will be ready again,” The German Football League’s chief executive Christian Seifert has said. All games would be played without fans.

German authorities have decided that events with large crowds will be banned at least until October 24, a decision that rules out football games being played with fans at the stadiums.

Faroe Islands to start playing on May 9

Faroese Football Association has announced that the Faroese championship will kick off on May 9. The first matches will be played behind closed doors.

The competition had initially been scheduled to start on March 8, but had to be postponed because of the pandemic. However, there have been no reported cases of the coronavirus in the country from April 6 to 18, and nobody has died because of Covid 19 in Faroe Islands.

Czech league to restart on May 25

Committee of the Czech Football League Association has approved the resumption of the competition on May 25.

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There are six rounds remaining of the top-flight Fortuna Liga regular season, after which the teams will be split up into three groups: championship, Europa League and relegation. All the players taking part in the competition will be tested before the restart of the season.

Polish Ekstraklasa to return on May 29

Polish authorities have accepted the Ekstraklasa’s plan to come back at the of May.

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According to the accepted roadmap, the 27th round of games in the country’s top division would be held between May 29 and May 31. The 2019/2020 would end on July 18-19. All games would be held without fans until further notice from the authorities.

Sweden’s Allsvenskan set to come back on June 14

The Swedish Football Association’s chairman Karl-Erik Nillson has said that the country’s top-flight will be ready to start on June 14. This year’s season had not kicked off because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sweden was one of the few countries in Europe not to implement strict lockdown rules because of the COVID-19 crisis. However, public gatherings were banned, which led to the postponement of the league’s start.

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