Impossible to say when leagues would resume, admits Alberto Colombo

Impossible to say when leagues would resume, admits Alberto Colombo

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Alberto Colombo, deputy general of European Leagues, has stated that it is impossible to foretell exactly when football will resume in the continent. All leagues, bar one, have been stalled to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus and there has been no clarity on when a restart is possible.

Germany was the first country in Europe to allow its clubs to train with precautionary measures, eyeing a resumption of the Bundesliga in May. English Premier League clubs are supposed to meet on Friday to discuss the future course of action and have talks on a possible resumption of the EPL behind closed doors. But many believe that resuming football action across Europe is tougher than it looks with the COVID-19 pandemic still not contained.

However, Alberto Colombo, the deputy general secretary of European Leagues, feels that it is impossible to state when football is actually going to resume and he admitted that the priority has been to create a condition where competitions are able to resume during the summer.

"The priority so far has been on focusing on creating conditions to be able to resume competition during the summer should we be able. You need to resume training and develop your own protocols. There's no doubt it will be behind closed doors, so the competition organisers have to develop medical protocols, training protocols, match-operation protocols,” said Colombo, as reported by BBC.

"But, of course, it's impossible to answer the question: 'When we will be back playing?” added the official.

Germany has already carried out more diagnostic swab tests than any other major European country, while the Italian Football Federation is making strides to test its players at the for the virus at the start of May as a preparation to start the league soon. The UEFA is all set to hold a video conference next week to chalk out plans for the next stage in its handling of the crisis and Colombo also added that a small number of countries were looking at cancelling their football seasons.

"We know there are other leagues, but really a small number, that are having these considerations. The vast majority has been focusing 100% on the resumption of their competitions. One of the reasons for us to maintain as a priority... is to safeguard the integrity of the competitions. And, of course, we have to avoid jeopardising the excellent work and co-operation we have developed with Uefa during the past weeks," he added.

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