Two people from two Premier League clubs have tested positive for the coronavirus after a second batch of testing, the Premier League said on Saturday. Since the players returned to limited group training on Tuesday, eight positive tests for the virus have been confirmed from England’s top-flight clubs. “The Premier League can today confirm that on Tuesday 19 May, Thursday 21 May and Friday 22 May, 996 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, two have tested positive from two clubs,” the statement said. “The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency. “Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days.” The Premier League said it would not be providing details of the identities of the two new positive tests. A total of 748 tests of players and club staff made up the initial round of testing on May 17-18. Watford’s Adrian Mariappa and two members of the club’s non-playing staff and Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan were among six positive tests. They are all still in their seven-day isolation period. Two other Watford players are also self-isolating after coming into close contact with people who tested positive, according to manager Nigel Pearson. No matches have been played in the Premier League since March, but the government has given the green light for elite sport to resume from June 1, including the top-flight football. The Premier League’s “Project Restart” hopes to resume action in June, although no date has been fixed. Another round of tests are scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday. All 20 clubs will hold a meeting on Wednesday to decide whether they can move to phase two of the restart and allow full-contact training. Chief executive Richard Masters said on Friday the Premier League is “as confident as we can be” about a resumption of the top flight and that the remaining 92 games would be completed. “We wouldn’t have taken the first step to get back to training if we weren’t convinced we had created a very safe environment for our players,” he said. Britain’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is the highest in Europe with an official figure of 36,675 as of Saturday. Germany’s Bundesliga returned to action last week with matches in empty stadiums and strict safety protocols. Spain’s government on Saturday gave the go-ahead for La Liga to resume from June 8.

Egypt s Minister of Sports and Youth Ashraf Sobhi announced Thursday that football teams will resume training sessions mid-June within preparations for the restart of the domestic league, confirming that the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) is following the lead of Germany s Bundesliga. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly gave the green light for sports centres and clubs to reopen 15 June, signalling a possible return of the domestic Premier League, which has been suspended since mid-March with only half the games played in this season. “Teams will resume trainings in mid-June following the government s decision, and we are discussing with EFA all plans for the resumption of the activities," Sobhi told Filgoal sports website. EFA has said repeatedly that a final decision on whether it can restart the Premier League rests with the government, which is treading cautiously to avoid a spike of coronavirus cases. Several clubs, including defending champions and current leaders Ahly, said they hope the league will resume so that they can collect monies from television and sponsorship rights. However, others voiced safety concerns, including Ahly s Cairo rivals Zamalek, who have few hopes of catching their perennial foes. "EFA has to reach an agreement with the teams about the process of restarting the domestic league," Sobhi said. "We are following the Germany Bundesliga restart, to make use of its positives and to avoid any mistakes," he added. The Bundesliga attracted over six million viewers in Germany Saturday after a two-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chinese Super League (CSL) will be stripped of exuberant goal celebrations — and fans — as it attempts to start during the coronavirus pandemic, reports said on Wednesday. The CSL has ambitions of launching the season in late June or early July, and Chinese football authorities have drawn up detailed plans to keep players and fans safe. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has taken a keen interest in South Korea s K-League and Germany s Bundesliga, which led the way in restarting despite lingering virus fears. CSL matches will be held initially behind closed doors, in step with the K-League and Bundesliga, before fans are gradually allowed in, state media said. Supporters will then have to sit at least one metre (three feet) apart, the Beijing Youth Daily said, while substitutes will also be spaced out on the sidelines and must wear masks. “In addition, for the game itself, the league will also cancel (child) mascots, team handshakes, group photos and other activities,” the report said. “Photojournalists area will be limited to behind the goal line and the sideline. “After a goal is scored players are not allowed to gather and hug, all celebrations will be replaced by applause.” The anti-virus plans need government approval for the season to kick off. The CSL, which was supposed to start on February 22, became one of the first sporting casualties of the coronavirus outbreak when it was indefinitely postponed in January. However, Chinese football is edging towards starting the season after authorities declared that they have mostly curbed local infections.

Players in the Bundesliga will be reminded to respect social distancing rules after Hertha Berlin celebrated in the usual fashion in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Hoffenheim, the German league’s International Chief Executive Robert Klein has said. Teams were ordered to avoid group celebrations as part of the health and safety regulations for the restart of the league over the weekend following the COVID-19 disruption. Hertha’s Bosnian forward Vedad Ibisevic, who scored one of their goals, said after the win that players were not robots but Klein maintained the rules had to be followed. “In the hygiene concept the guideline is to celebrate within social distancing rules,” Klein told reporters. “One can imagine at the height of a goal being scored that maybe, sometimes, the players get closer. “The clubs are working actively with players. They speak to them every day to remind them of what needs to be done to ensure we earn the right to a second matchday and a third and to finish the season.” Earlier this month, Hertha suspended Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou after he posted a video on social media showing himself and team mates shaking hands and displaying a casual approach to COVID-19 guidelines. The club had said in a statement that “this was the conduct of a single player” and denied that the squad did not take social distancing and hygiene rules seriously.

Britain s Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is hopeful the Premier League can resume by mid-June despite concerns raised by players and coaches over the need for an extended period of training before matches restart. Premier League clubs are meeting on Monday to sign off on protocols that will allow a return to training this week, whilst maintaining social distancing guidelines. The last top-flight match in England was on March 9 and Newcastle manager Steve Bruce said on Sunday his players could "fall down like a pack of cards" with injuries if matches return before the end of June. England international Raheem Sterling also expressed his concern at a quick turnaround between a resumption of training and playing matches. The Premier League have reportedly been aiming for a return on June 12. Dowden insisted public safety remained the priority, but is also hoping a restart is only around a month away. "I had some very constructive discussions on Thursday with the FA, the EFL (English Football League) and the Premier League," Dowden told Sky News on Monday. "We are working hard with them to try and get it back, aiming for mid-June, but the number one test is public safety. "They, like a lot of other sports we re looking at returning behind closed doors, have met with Public Health England several times to look at the safety. "If we can sort that out then we will look to resume by mid-June. We re making good progress." British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament last week that the return of sport on TV would "provide a much-needed boost to national morale". The resumption of Germany s Bundesliga over the weekend has raised expectations that the Premier League can follow suit despite the drastically different scale of the health crisis in both countries. In the UK, the government s official rolling tally of fatalities is nearing 35,000 compared to just under 8,000 in Germany. Nevertheless, the Bundesliga is proving a test case for the Premier League s Project Restart . English clubs who resisted a proposal for the remaining 92 matches of the campaign to be played at neutral venues will have been heartened that there were no significant problems with supporters turning up near stadiums in Germany for the restart. If the protocols are passed in Monday s meeting, Premier League players can return to non-contact training later in the week. However, former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro warned of the risks being taken with players health without yet knowing the consequences COVID-19 could have on athletes. "We simply do not know how the virus affects athletes," said Dr. Carneiro. "From my experience, football does not have a culture of embracing and observing medical governance which, now more than ever, is required to ensure compliance. "Not only in the short-term, but in the medium and long term, when fatigue with the new protocols sets in."

Soccer clubs in Italy’s top-flight can resume full training from May 18, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday, as part of a further easing of restrictions of one of the world’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns. Serie A has been suspended since March 9 and a date has not yet been set for the season to re-start, although players have returned to individual training while respecting social distancing rules. Italy was the first European country to be seriously affected by the coronavirus crisis while Serie A was the first league to play matches without spectators and the first major league to suspend play. Conte confirmed that football clubs would return to training on Monday along with other sports teams but could not give any details about when Serie A would resume. On Saturday, Germany’s Bundesliga became the first major European league to re-start since the COVID-19 pandemic obliterated the global sporting calendar. “There are so many pressures to re-start Serie A but it is necessary that the highest safety conditions are in place,” Conte added. “To give a precise date we need to have some more guarantees than those we have at the moment but from what I’ve been told, we haven’t had them yet.” Juventus were leading the Serie A standings by one point over second-placed Lazio with 12 games remaining when the season was halted in March. Italy has the third-highest death toll from coronavirus in the world although its daily tally on Saturday fell to 153, the lowest since March 9.

The German Football League (DFL) will allow teams to make up to five substitutions per match, instead of the usual three, for the rest of the season, it said in a statement on Thursday. Soccer s rule making body IFAB made the change to the law this month but left it up to individual competition organisers to decide whether to implement it. The Bundesliga will be the first major league to use it. The DFL also confirmed that there will be relegation in the top two divisions, provided that the season is completed, and that the season would extend beyond June 30 if necessary.

Egyptian Sports and Youth Minister Ashraf Sobhi insisted on Tuesday that the ministry is still keen on resuming the football season if conditions in the country are appropriate. “Yes, there’s hope, and we want to resume football activity and the league competition, but it is necessary to abide by precautions and instructions in accordance with the vision of the Ministry of Health,” Sobhi told a local state radio. Football in Egypt has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, while the clubs have halted training and asked players to stay fit at home until further notice. Egypt recently eased coronavirus restrictions, but football officials were not given a timeframe on when they can restart the domestic league. “We are now in a safe zone to continue the premier league. But each organisation, whether the clubs or the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), will be responsible for applying all instructions and complying with precautions,” he added. The EFA is scheduled to send the final decision regarding the current season to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) by 15 May, according to the EFA president Amr El-Ganainy. Last Thursday, the EFA extended the suspension of all football activities in the country for a further two weeks as the nighttime curfew in Egypt was extended. “I requested from El-Ganainy to prepare two scenarios and plans for both decisions; resuming the season or cancelling it. It’s necessary to have a plan in case the season is cancelled, putting into the consideration who will be crowned the champions, who will qualify to the continental competitions, and who will relegate,” said the sports minister. “The final decision will be announced before the end of May,” he concluded. Defending champions Ahly are the overwhelming favourites to win a fifth straight title as they top the table with 49 points after 17 games, 16 ahead of the nearest challengers Arab Contractors, who have played one game more than the Red Devils. According to the latest health ministry statement issued on Monday, Egypt registered 346 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 9,746 cases, with a death toll of 533 nationwide.

The women’s Under-20 World Cup tournament in Costa Rica and Panama, postponed from August-September due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been rescheduled for Jan. 20-Feb. 6 of next year, world governing body FIFA said on Tuesday. The women’s Under-17 World Cup in India, originally planned for November, has also been rescheduled for Feb. 17-March 7, 2021. Dates were confirmed after taking into account the time needed to complete qualification tournaments. FIFA also confirmed the Futsal World Cup, originally scheduled for September-October this year in Lithuania, was pushed to Sept. 12-Oct. 3, 2021. Meanwhile, the 70th FIFA Congress, which was originally due to take place in Addis Ababa, will be held as an online event on Sept. 18.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has said he hopes Spanish soccer will resume on June 12 after being halted for over three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. All clubs in Spain s top two divisions began testing players for the virus last week and many including La Liga champions Barcelona started individual training, the second step of the league s four-phase protocol for returning to action. Real Madrid resume individual training on Monday. "I d like to restart on June 12 but we have to be prudent and it s not just up to football, it s also up to society, we all need to focus on complying with measures to protect health," Tebas told Spanish television network Movistar on Sunday. Tebas confirmed all matches will take place without spectators, as will be the case when Germany s Bundesliga restarts next week, and he said the league was working on ways to add to the atmosphere although he did not give details. He also said fixtures would be spread out so that there are matches every day. "Now that we are not going to have fans in the stadiums we are going to have some innovative ideas for broadcasting the games," Tebas added. "There s going to be football every day once La Liga returns." The league reported on Sunday that five players across the two divisions had tested positive for the virus and had been ordered to stay isolated at their homes. They will not be able to return to training grounds until they have tested negative. Tebas added that three staff members had also tested positive for the virus but he said the number of cases was far lower than expected, insisting there would be no increase in the risk of players getting infected once matches started. "We were expecting around 25 or 30 based on the numbers in the Bundesliga and how much the virus has penetrated Spain. Out of 2,500 people tested we have only eight positive cases, which is good news," he said. "Infection during a match is practically impossible as we have done a study which we re releasing which will show there is a minimum risk in matches if we all respect the health measures."

Spain s association of soccer players has complained about the publication of the identity of an Atletico Madrid defender who tested positive for COVID-19. Spanish media reported Friday that Atletico s Renan Lodi had tested positive for coronavirus. On Saturday, Atletico posted a message on an official club social media channel with a picture of the Brazilian. The message said: ``Renan Lodi says hello from his home. We will see you very soon on the field, Renan! The players association said in a statement Saturday that the revelation of Lodi s identity violated Spanish law protecting his privacy. ``The legislation in our country makes it clear that under normal circumstances a company cannot obligate a worker who is on medical leave to make public his or her illness, the association said. It is not clear how Lodi s name was first reported. Over the last week professional soccer players in Spain have been allowed to return to their clubs for individual training while waiting for the competition to restart at a still to be determined date.

Germany s Bundesliga will be the first major football league in Europe to return to action next week after being suspended in March as the coronavirus spread across the continent. The pandemic has claimed almost 150,000 lives in Europe but some countries are cautiously beginning to ease stay-at-home orders. Germany The German league on Wednesday announced that the Bundesliga will restart on May 15. Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders earlier gave the Bundesliga the green light to restart behind closed doors under a plan that includes regular testing of players. Permission was granted on condition that strict guidelines are followed -- with a hygiene officer appointed to each team -- to prevent contagion of the virus. So far, clubs in the top two divisions have returned 10 positive results for coronavirus from 1,724 tests since training resumed. Three of the cases were from Cologne and two from Borussia Moenchengladbach. England Premier League clubs reaffirmed their commitment last week to finish the season subject to restrictions being lifted in Britain, although players including Manchester City s Sergio Aguero have expressed reservations about the plan. The English top flight faces an estimated loss of around £1 billion ($1.25 billion) if the season cannot be completed. Plans to stage the 92 remaining games behind closed doors, reportedly at up to 10 neutral venues, would mitigate the financial damage. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to outline details of how Britain will exit lockdown on Sunday before the next Premier League meeting to discuss the restart plan takes place a day later. Premier League chiefs have targeted a return to action in June and several clubs have reopened their training grounds for players to use on an individual basis. A large supply of privately sourced tests would be needed for players, coaches and backroom staff. However, relegation-threatened clubs are reported to be against the neutral venue plan, with some said to be willing to vote against the Premier League s "Project Restart". Spain La Liga players have started returning to their clubs to undergo coronavirus tests as teams plan to return to restricted training ahead of the proposed resumption of the season next month. The first of a four-phase de-escalation programme announced by the Spanish government last week will allow players to initially train alone, with a maximum of six players permitted on the pitch. La Liga s programme will then permit training in small groups before a return to larger team sessions. In the fourth and final phase, in early June, the government has said outside events can go ahead when attended by fewer than 400 people. La Liga is proposing to complete its season behind closed doors, with games re-starting in mid-June. League president Javier Tebas has said "it is not an option" to cancel the season given the economic fallout, estimating it would cost clubs around a billion euros. Italy Players at a number of Italian clubs, including defending champions Juventus, are back training individually after receiving the green light from the country s interior ministry. Despite players being allowed to return to club facilities two weeks ahead of schedule and undergoing health checks, sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora warned training in groups must wait until May 18. Cristiano Ronaldo will have to observe a 14-day quarantine period after returning to Italy following two months of confinement in Portugal. It remains uncertain whether matches can restart, with Spadafora saying "it is impossible to set a certain date". Officially, all 20 Serie A teams have unanimously backed a return to competition, despite reservations from clubs such as Brescia and Torino, in the north of Italy, which was particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. A meeting is scheduled Thursday between the Italian Football Federation and members of the government s Technical Scientific Committee to discuss the medical protocol for the resumption of group training. France Paris Saint-Germain were named Ligue 1 champions after France s football league declared the coronavirus-hit season over on April 30. The announcement came after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said that "professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart" because of the pandemic. "There is no ambiguity about this declaration. We needed to make a final decision about this season. We acknowledge that the 2019-20 season is over," said LFP president Nathalie Boy de la Tour. The LFP arranged a final table on the basis of average points per game. Ten rounds of matches remained when the campaign was halted. Toulouse and Amiens, the bottom two, were condemned to relegation, with Lorient, as champions, and Lens coming up from Ligue 2. The usual promotion and relegation play-offs, meanwhile, have been ditched.

Turkey plans to host the Champions League final in August, the head of its football federation said on Wednesday, after it was postponed by the global coronavirus pandemic. Two months ago European soccer s governing body UEFA indefinitely postponed the final, which had been scheduled to be played in Istanbul in May. Turkish Football Federation chairman Nihat Ozdemir also said Turkey s domestic soccer league would resume from June 12 and aims to complete the season on July 26. The schedule would involve 7 weekend games and 1 weekday match. Teams will play their matches in their own cities and own stadiums, he said, adding that no consideration had been given to playing matches in a single city. "God willing, we will complete our own leagues at the end of July. We will hand over our cups on the pitch and then we will cap the season off by hosting the UEFA Champions League final in August," Ozdemir told a televised news conference.

Germany’s Bundesliga is set to be given the green light for a restart, probably from May 15, as part of measures to further ease the country’s coronavirus regulations, two people familiar with the preparations told Reuters. The Bundesliga would be the first of the five major European domestic soccer leagues to resume play after a stoppage which has seen almost all football put on hold around the world since mid-March. German states are set agree on the restart in a teleconference with Chancellor Angela Merkel scheduled for Wednesday, the sources said. Matches would take place under strict conditions - and with no fans in stadiums. So far Portugal, Poland and Hungary have given dates for restarting their national leagues, all towards the end of May. Germany’s professional teams have been training since mid-April, divided into small groups and under strict conditions which include extensive testing of all players and coaching staff. The German Football League (DFL) has submitted a health safety plan for games without spectators which includes regular testing of players but no quarantines for entire squads in cases of positive tests. However, it says that if a player is infected, decisions on the measures to be taken lie with the local health authorities. On Monday, the DFL said that it had registered 10 positive cases in a blanket test of 1,724 players and staff at its 36 first and second division clubs. The DFL said a second round of tests would be carried out in the next week and there “may be isolated positive test results”. Some media reports suggested that hopes of a restart had been hampered by the behaviour of players at Hertha Berlin on Monday. Hertha forward Salomon Kalou posted a video on social media showing him shaking hands with players and interrupting a team mate’s medical exam. The club suspended the Ivorian, who apologised and said his behaviour did not reflect the club’s instructions to staff.

Egyptian Football Association (EFA) president Amr El-Gشnainy has revealed that the association has put in place several scenarios for the continuation of the premier league competition, stressing that cancelling the tournament is not the EFA’s decision. “It’s the Egyptian government’s decision only, not the EFA’s. We provided the sports minister with all the solutions we’ve reached to resume the competition,” El-Ganainy told MBC Masr TV Channel late Sunday. When asked about ending the season and considering the league leaders Ahly as champions, he replied, “We started the competition with certain conditions and we want to complete it.” Meanwhile, Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhi said on 14 April to local media that cancelling the league is not his decision, it is the EFA’s decision, and the ministry’s opinion is just consultative to provide solutions and suggestions. Football in Egypt has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, and could be resumed by mid-July, according to Gamal Mohamed Ali, EFA vice president. Egypt has recently eased coronavirus restrictions, but football officials were not given a timeframe on when they can restart the domestic league. The Confederation of African Football requested on 26 April that the continent’s national football associations inform it of their plans on whether to resume or postpone their local league seasons, in order to allow it to decide whether or not to reschedule the 2019-2020 continental season. “I don’t know at this time what to tell CAF in response to their question. We have to send our decisions by 15 May, I guess the final decision will be made by that time,” the EFA president added. El-Ganainy revealed that one of the EFA’s strategies for resuming the Egyptian Premier League is to play the remaining matches with the same system of the Africa Cup of Nations, with matches played at certain stadiums. “In this case, the stadiums have to include some important things such as training pitches and suitable hotels, and also we would need to isolate all the teams during that period, with no one entering or leaving,” El-Ganainy explained. Egyptian football clubs have halted training amid the coronavirus scare, asking players to stay fit at home until further notice. Defending champions Ahly are the overwhelming favourites to win a fifth straight title as they top the table with 49 points, 16 ahead of the nearest challengers Arab Contractors, who have played one game more than Ahly. According to the latest health ministry statement issued on Sunday, Egypt registered 272 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 6,465 cases, with a death toll of 429 nationwide.

Runaway leaders Ahly, who are overwhelming favourites to win a fifth straight Egyptian Premier League title, said on Saturday that completing the season is essential to avert drastic financial losses for clubs. Most of the Premier League clubs said they want the season cancelled over health worries, with coronavirus cases steadily increasing in the country. Egypt s premier domestic competition has been suspended since mid-March with only half the games played, amid doubts that it could be completed. An Egyptian Football Association official said recently that resuming the competition is facing several obstacles due to a tight timeframe. Hossam El-Zanati, who heads the association s competitions committee, said teams need four weeks to prepare for the league resumption and then 60 "uninterrupted days" to complete the season, warning that any further delays would heavily weigh on next season. Ahly sit top of the table on 49 points, 16 ahead of nearest challengers Arab Contractors, who played a game more. The Red Devils believe any cancellations will badly affect cash-strapped clubs. "Any decision other than resuming the season … will result in the clubs losing their earnings from marketing and television rights," the club said in a statement on their official website. "Ahly, and possibly all clubs, have already paid around 85% of the salaries of players and members of the technical, administrative and medical staffs. If the season is cancelled, the clubs will not get more than 50% of television and sponsorship rights." Egypt cancelled its domestic season twice in the last decade. The 2011-12 season was scrapped following the deadly Port Said disaster, which left over 70 Ahly fans dead, and the following season was also called off following the mass protests that toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. But Ahly believe there is no reason to cancel the competition this time around. "There is no need to rush into taking a decision to call off the league, given that there is still enough time after the Olympic Games and the African qualifiers for national teams were postponed," the club added.

The Egyptian Premier League season could be resumed by mid-July, according to Gamal Mohamed Ali, Egyptian Football Association (EFA) vice president, who revealed that EFA has already sent a plan for resuming the league to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Football in Egypt has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. “We sent the league’s file to Ministry of Youth and Sports, and we are awaiting the country’s decision regarding resuming football activities,” Ali told ON Time Sports TV channel Tuesday night. Egypt has recently eased coronavirus restrictions, but football officials were not given a timeframe on when they can restart the domestic league. With almost 150 matches left to play in the league, head of EFA s competitions committee Hossam El-Zanati recently said that resuming the season would face several obstacles. According to Ali, the season needs just two months to be completed. “Trainings will return by the start or mid-June, while the league will be resumed by mid-July according to our plan,” he explained. "There would be precautionary measures in place once the competition is resumed," he added. Egyptian football clubs halted training amid the coronavirus scare, asking players to stay fit at home until further notice. Defending champions Ahly are the overwhelming favourites to win a fifth straight title as they top the table with 49 points, 16 ahead of nearest challengers Arab Contractors, who have played one game more than Ahly. According to the latest health ministry statement issued Tuesday, Egypt registered 260 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 5,042 cases, with a death toll of 359 nationwide.

A decision to restructure Argentine football that will save Diego Maradona’s club from relegation was dubbed another Hand of God moment on Tuesday, but the former striker said the divine intervention he wished for was to beat the coronavirus pandemic. The Argentine Football Association voted to suspend relegation for two seasons on Tuesday, saving the Maradona-coached Gimnasia club, who are currently bottom of the league, from going down. “This happened to us today and many people are calling it a new Hand of God,” said Maradona, who dubbed his notorious hand-assisted goal against England in the 1986 World Cup as the Hand of God. “But today I am asking for that hand to do away with the pandemic so people can get back to living their lives, with health and happiness,” he added. Maradona said he disagreed with the decision to suspend relegation for two years but called the favourable ruling “a prize.” Argentina has so far recorded 4,127 cases of COVID-19, with 214 fatalities.

Professional athletes across the world should not be rushed back to action once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, and they must have a strong say in determining the conditions for their return, the World Players Association said on Tuesday. Sports competitions around the world have come to a screeching halt this year as the virus spreads across the globe, starving clubs, leagues and federations of revenues and putting tens of thousands of professional athletes on hold. "At the moment there is a lot of pressure from the leagues on all continents to resume," WPA Executive Director Brendan Schwab told Reuters in an interview. "The players can only agree to that (return) if they know that their interests will be protected. The best approach we are seeing is when the leagues... set up joint groups where players have an equal say,... where they are not being rushed." Several football leagues in Europe, including Germany s Bundesliga, have drawn up their plans to be ready to resume play without spectators if it means finishing the season and remaining contractually in order with broadcasters and sponsors. The WPA, an association representing some 85,000 athletes around the world through more than 100 player associations in over 60 countries, held a conference call earlier on Tuesday with its affiliated associations to update on the situation. It is unclear what kind of influence the players or the WPA as a whole can yield with cash-strapped clubs and federations desperate for a return to action both on a national and international level. GROWING INFLUENCE However, the athletes growing influence in global decision-making in sport was felt last month when their vocal opposition to competing in the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year contributed to a postponement of the Games to 2021. The pandemic has infected almost 3 million people worldwide and killed more than 200,000, raising expectations of a prolonged battle to contain it. Every major sports event has been postponed and seasons across all sports have been suspended creating a competition backlog, with the Tokyo Games move to 2021 further reshuffling the sports calendar next year. Schwab said any return to action would also need to clarify issues including testing, any potential future interruption if the virus flares up again and that the infection of a player will be treated as a workplace injury by the clubs. Career-ending or fatal illness due to the virus should have the full protection "of this being a workplace injury," Schwab said. "This is not clear yet in a lot of the leagues." Testing would also need to be adapted to the various sports with some, such as tennis or cricket, requiring fewer tests than contact sports such as basketball or football that would require extensive pre- and post-game testing, he said. Several nations laboratories are working to find protective vaccines and drugs for the disease, but it could be many months before they become widely available due to the need for exhaustive clinical trials of their effectiveness and safety. "Any return to play scenario would also need to have a strong plan B," said Schwab as were no guarantees the seasons would finish once they restarted. "The situation is still fluid and interruptions need to be considered," Schwab said. "What is critical is that all player associations have the strongest possible position at the bargaining table so they can get the balance right between economic viability and public and player health."

The head of the Egyptian Football Association s (EFA) competitions committee admitted to the difficulty of completing the domestic season but said he still hopes a solution could be found before it s too late. Football in the country has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, with just half the season played. With almost 150 matches still left to play in the Egyptian Premier League, Hossam El-Zanati said resuming the competition would face several obstacles. "I don t think there is any other league competition in the world with so many games left to play," he told OnTime sports television channel. "We need to give the teams four weeks to prepare for the league resumption, and then we need 60 uninterrupted days to complete the competition. If there are any further delays, the league will conclude by the end of September. "If we introduced a congested schedule in which the teams play every two days, the players will be burned out, and that will in turn affects the Egyptian national team, which have commitments in September." The league competition will remain on hold until at least mid-May. Egypt has recently eased its coronavirus restrictions, but football officials were not given any timeframe over when they can kick-start the league. Should this season be scrapped, El-Zanati will face another dilemma -- who will be declared champions, who will qualify for African competitions and who will be relegated. Defending champions Ahly are overwhelming favourites to win a fifth straight title as they top the table on 49 points, 16 ahead of nearest challengers Arab Contractors, who played a game more. "We haven t reached the halfway stage so it will be too early (to decide). It s natural that people say Ahly should be crowned champions because they are very close, but what about relegation places?" Egypt cancelled its domestic season twice in the last decade. The 2011-12 season was scrapped following the deadly Port Said disaster, which left over 70 Ahly fans dead, and the following season was also called off following the mass protests that toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Arsenal will re-open their London Colney training ground to their players next week for individual training but the Premier League club will continue to observe social distancing rules amid the coronavirus outbreak, they said on Saturday. Soccer in England was suspended indefinitely last month due to the virus and no clubs have been in training. “Players will be permitted access to the Colney grounds next week,” Arsenal said in a statement. “Access will be limited, carefully managed and social distancing will be maintained at all times. All Colney buildings remain closed. “Players will travel alone, do their individual workout and return home,” the club added. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus on March 12, which led to the Premier League postponing the next round of matches and none have been played since. Arsenal spoke to all their players after Alexandre Lacazette, David Luiz, Nicolas Pepe and Granit Xhaka were pictured allegedly breaking social distancing guidelines. Premier League clubs have been working on the basis that the earliest they may be allowed to resume training would be in early May. The British government is expected to review current lockdown restrictions on May 7. Should teams be allowed to train, it is expected they would need two to three weeks to get prepared to play competitive matches, making the earliest possible return in June. But with the ban on mass public gatherings likely to be one of the last restrictions to be lifted, rescheduled games will almost certainly be held behind closed doors. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has been liaising with a number of sports bodies, led by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on how things might work should the green light be given by the medical experts for sport to resume safely. The Football League (EFL) which organises the three divisions below the Premier League, on Saturday highlighted testing of players and others involved in games as the key issue. “Clearly, before any return to football can take place, suitable testing arrangements for participants must be in place and this is core to our current planning, as is ensuring there is absolutely no negative impact on the country’s front-line workers, the Emergency services, League and Club staff members,” the league said in a statement.