Germany's Bundesliga might restart from May 9. German authorities are set to announce plans to restart the league which has been halted since March 13 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government is slowly easing nationwide restrictions and the resumption of the Bundesliga would boost morale in football-mad Germany, reported AFP.
It would also make the Bundesliga the first top-flight European league to begin playing again. Large public events are banned in Germany until August 31, yet football could resume without spectators -- known as "ghost games" in German. Germany has more testing capacity than other European countries and players could be tested regularly.
The 18 clubs have been back in training for three weeks, albeit in small groups with social distancing observed even on the pitch. Having already been given signs of encouragement by politicians, the German Football League (DFL) is set to iron out details in Thursday's video conference meeting of the clubs. Final approval could be given by Merkel and regional state premiers at a meeting on April 30.
The DFL is desperate for the league season to be completed by June 30 to ensure payment of the next instalment of television money, worth around 300 million euros (USD 326 million). The cash could keep some clubs alive, with 13 of the 36 clubs in Germany's top two tiers reportedly on the verge of insolvency.
