Plans for the top two tiers of German football to restart have been approved by the federal government, making the Bundesliga the first of Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues to be given the green light after competitions across the continent were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 36 clubs gathered via conference call to formalise the fixture schedule, and it has been decided that matches will begin from May 16, restarting from matchday 26 and playing through to a final round of matches on the weekend of 27/28 June.
All the matches will be played behind closed doors.
Among the highlights of the first round upon the league’s resumption is the Ruhr derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke. Reigning champions Bayern Munich resume their quest to retain their title against Union Berlin on Sunday, May 17.
Regular and widespread testing has been a key cornerstone of Germany’s handling of the crisis from the beginning, and of the German Football League (DFL)’s strategy to restart.
It announced that the second wave of tests had been completed. Out of 1,695 conducted on staff connected to the 36 clubs, only two had come back positive. The DFL said those individuals’ cases were reported immediately to the local health authorities.
Players will train in groups no bigger than four, Zubiria said, and have been told to keep at least 10 metres apart at all times.
They will be expected to wear face masks right up until the start of the session, change in individual changing rooms and seal up their own training kit. Communal spaces at the training ground such as the cafe will not be in use.
