German football authorities are set to announce plans for Bundesliga matches to restart on 9 May in empty stadiums.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is slowly easing nationwide restrictions and the resumption of the Bundesliga, which was halted on 13 March, would boost morale in football.
It would also make the Bundesliga the first top-flight European league to begin playing again.
Large public events are banned in Germany until 31 August, yet football could resume without spectators – known as “ghost games” in German.
Germany has more testing capacity than other European countries and players could be tested regularly.
The 18 clubs have been back in training for three weeks, albeit in small groups with social distancing observed even on the pitch.
Having already been given signs of encouragement by politicians, the German Football League (DFL) is set to iron out details in Thursday’s video conference meeting of the clubs.
Final approval could be given by Merkel and regional state premiers at a meeting on 30 April.
The DFL is desperate for the league season to be completed by 30 June to ensure payment of the next installment of television money, worth around €300 million.
The cash could keep some clubs alive, with 13 of the 36 clubs in Germany’s top two tiers reportedly on the verge of insolvency.
With fans across Europe and the world deprived of football, the games are also likely to attract TV audiences far beyond Germany.
