This archive report was first published on 23 May 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect Europe, football leagues are slowly restarting. On May 23, 2020, the German Bundesliga resumed its second matchday since returning from its virus hiatus last week, with all matches going ahead behind closed doors.
However, it was not the first European league to return. The Faroe Islands resumed its league a week earlier, and Belarus was the only European country where football carried on throughout the last two months.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Saturday that La Liga could return in the week of June 8, meaning league chief Javier Tebas' desire to restart on June 12 should now become reality.
Here are the confirmed restart dates for various European leagues:
- Czech Republic - May 23
- Denmark - May 28
- Serbia - May 30
- Austria - June 2
- Portugal - June 4
- Slovenia - June 5
- Croatia - June 6
- Turkey - June 12
- Norway - June 16
- Russia - June 21
- Finland - July 1
However, England and Italy remain hopeful of completing the season but ongoing concerns about the health crisis mean nothing is set in stone. Six positive cases for coronavirus were detected at three English Premier League clubs, including Watford defender Adrian Mariappa, following tests of players and staff ahead of this week's return to socially-distanced training in small groups.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said he needs 'more guarantees' before the green light could finally be given for football to resume.
Other European countries have already ended their seasons, including the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Scotland, Luxembourg, and Cyprus.
