THE Bundesliga has been given the green light to return on May 9 with radical safety measures to be put in place following the coronavirus lockdown.
The German top-flight is set to return in just two weeks after a series of radical plans were approved.
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Bundesliga football is set to return on May 9 – but players will have to wash their own kit
In the latest update, it was revealed football could return to Germany after:
- 25,000 testing kits, costing £90 each were bought
- 1,100 players and staff were tested
- The German government and federal states approved the plan
If matches are allowed to go ahead, other rules include:
- The installation of pitch-side sinks
- Only allowing 322 people in and around a stadium for Bundesliga games (270 for Bundesliga 2)
- Players washing their own kit
- Face masks to be worn by certain people in the stadium
- Press conferences will be held virtually rather than in person
- Temperature checks for all entering the stadium via ear thermometers
- No pre-match handshakes, team photos or mascots
Amongst other things there will only be 322 people allowed in a stadium for any game, while players must wash their own kit.
Two top two leagues in Germany could now return – behind closed doors – in just over a fortnight, according to plans set out by Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert.
Seifert said: “The Bundesliga is ready to resume, no matter whether on May 9 or a later date.
“But it’s not up to us to find a date. The political decision makers decide. We have not defined an exact date today.
“The fact that we are even able to think about resuming games underlines the performance of the German authorities.
“It would be presumptuous for the DFL to name an exact date for the restart.”
TEST RUN
Despite Seifert’s claim, all 36 clubs in the Bundesliga – which could return to UK screens on Saturday afternoons for the first time in 50 years – and Bundesliga 2 agreed to the May 9 return date.
However, football in Germany will only be allowed to continue following the approval of the government and ALL federal states.
The league are set to spend £2.2MILLION on coronavirus testing kits, with all 1,100 players and staff set to be involved in the return having to first take a test.
At top-flight matches, only 322 players, staff, security and media members will be permitted in and around the stadium.
In the rules, 98 will be allowed inside the stadium, 115 in the stands and 109 outside the stadium.
In the second tier, that total number drops to 270.
Amongst other radical rules, there could be pitch-side sinks installed, with the wearing of masks required for some within the ground – with all pre-match rituals out the window.
The German Football Federation revealed they would need at least 25,000 coronavirus testing kits – costing £90 a pop – before they could go ahead.
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They also revealed the testing would almost certainly have to be carried out weekly – with 14 Bundesliga players having tested positive for, and since recovered from, coronavirus.
The news comes just hours after chancellor Angela Merkel revealed she believed many states had eased lockdown restrictions too soon, with Germany “in it for the long haul”.
Having seen no action since March 11, the Bundesliga could return for gameweek 26 on May 9, with the final weekend of action on the weekend of June 27/28.
How German football is preparing to return in May in wake of coronavirus pandemic
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
