Good news for soccer lovers as Spanish professional football’s top-flight LaLiga has been given the go-ahead to restart from 8 June, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced.
The Spanish top-flight was suspended on 12 March because of coronavirus but the league stepped up its preparations for a resumption as group training of up to 10 players was allowed at the start of the week.
There are 11 rounds of fixtures still to play in LaLiga, which will confirm a return date in the coming days although Javier Tebas, the league’s president, has stated 12 June is also an option. Reigning champions Barcelona lead Real Madrid by two points in the title race.
“Spain has done what it needed to do and now new horizons can open for everyone. The time has come to recover many of our daily activities. From 8 June, LaLiga will be able to return,” Sanchez said in an address to the nation today.
“Spanish football has a huge following but it will not be the only recreation activity that will return.”
Tebas has been adamant the league must restart, having estimated that a cancellation of the season would cost clubs around one billion euros ($1.09 billion).
The Segunda Division – Spain’s second tier – has also been cleared to resume on the same date.
The announcement means LaLiga should become the second of Europe’s ‘Big Five’ professional to resume after the German Bundesliga restarted last week. The Premier League is targetting a 12 or 19 June resumption and Italy’s Serie A could follow on 15 June. The French Ligue 1 season has been declared over.
Reacting to the news, Tebas said on Twitter: “We are very happy for the decision, it is the result of the great work of clubs, players, technicians… CSD (National Sports Council) and agents involved.
“But we cannot lower our guard, it is important to follow health regulations and ensure the pandemic doesn’t come back.”
Spain has been one of the countries worst-affected by the coronavirus outbreak, with more than 28,000 deaths and over 234,000 cases of infection diagnosed. But the daily death toll has been steadily declining, with only 56 deaths registered on Friday.
Spain has also begun to relax one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns; the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona are set to allow gatherings of up to 10 people from Monday as they move into the first phase of a de-escalation.
