How football could return in Germany on May 9

The German Football League (DFL) still hope to finish the 2019/20 Bundesliga season with a return date set for May 9, should German politicians approve plans for the league to resume.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, DFL CEO Christian Seifert explained that clubs will be ready to resume on May 9, but the date is not confirmed and they have to wait a final decision from the government.

“If we start on May 9, we are ready. If it is later, we will be ready again. For us, what is decisive is what the politicians will decide. It is not for us to decide when,” said Seifert.

“Games without spectators are not what we want, but at the moment it’s the only thing that seems feasible.”

DFL have put forward plans that will see stadiums divided into three zones, with a maximum of 100 people in each section.

Should the Bundesliga resume, 213 personnel will be allowed inside the stadium and a further 109 outside, which will put into practise social distancing skills.

In order to minimise further infections, Seifert explained that roughly 20,000 coronavirus tests will be needed to finish the season, which is less than 0.4% of the total capacity until the end of June, as The Athletic point out.

Players will also wash and bring their own kit to the game and temperatures will be taken upon arrival to the stadium.

A problem that could ensue to games being played behind closed doors is fans still congregating around the stadium whilst some Ultra groups may be opposed to ghost games.

More news on this as it’s changing on a daily basis but the next step is the government holding a meeting on 30 April where they will discuss public gatherings and will likely find an outcome on how football matches across Germany could be played.

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