Sporting state of play: When will your favourite sport return from COVID-19 shutdown?
As football fans await the return of the AFL and NRL, other sports have resumed around the world without fans. Here’s a full guide to what you can watch and when to expect Aussie sports to return.
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As the NRL moves closer to its planned May 28 return and AFL bosses settle on a date to restart the 2020 season, sports have resumed in some countries without crowds.
Korean sport fans have been treated to the return of soccer’s K-League and baseball in recent weeks, with Australian sport fans waiting for the return of team sport to complement horse racing.
Here’s when you can expect to see sport back in Australia and what you can watch to get your sporting fix.
BACK PLAYING
– Korean baseball. The KBO is back playing and Korean soccer (the K-League) has also returned. Like Australia and New Zealand, South Korea has managed to be one of the COVID-19 success stories.
UFC
– The fan-less UFC 249 was held in Florida on Sunday. They were the first sports competition to return in the United States since the start of the pandemic. “Gate was zero. Attendance was zero, that’s a first. We can share what we learned here with other sports leagues, who are reaching out to us and asking,” UFC boss Dana White said after the event.
COMING SOON
NRL
– Plans to restart the season on May 28. Players are back training with full contact.
– Melbourne Storm returned to Victoria from Albury on Tuesday, and will be back based at AAMI Park.
– Clubs eagerly awaiting the release of the new draw.
– All games will be LIVE on Fox League.
AFL
– Announcement of its restart plan is imminent.
– The Victorian Government has allowed professional clubs to start training together again.
“What I feel confident in is we have a range of options that will satisfy the chief health officers in each state,” AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said last week.
– All games when the season resumes will be LIVE on Fox Footy
STILL IN LIMBO
CRICKET
– The T20 World Cup is in doubt. India is set to visit Australia for a T20 tri-series in October and then a four-match Test series in December. There have been reports of India trying to gain special dispensation in order to fly here so the series can proceed. CA has stood down all but essential workers until the end of the financial year. “We’re dealing with a situation that’s hitting us, unfortunately, at the low point of our cash cycle over four years,” CA boss Kevin Roberts.
MOTORSPORT
– The Supercars championship has been postponed, with talk a resumed season could run over summer and conclude at Bathurst next February.
“I think I’ve been pretty vocal, as a few people have been, about wanting to do more racing over summer, anyway.”- Supercars boss Sean Seamer
– Every session of the Supercars Championship is broadcast live in high definition on Fox Sports
– All Formula 1 races originally scheduled until the end of June have been either cancelled or postponed.
SOCCER
– The A-League season was suspended in March with five regular season rounds to play. There are reports it will aim to complete the season in July and August.
“We will resume play as soon as possible, and the first stage would see the players return to training,” said FFA boss James Johnson.
– The A-League is shown LIVE on Fox Sports
– The English Premier League season is suspended, Italy and Germany are working on imminent reboots.
BASKETBALL
– NBA season suspended from March 11. Practice courts opening from this week and some players returning to training “There’s a flickering of a light that we’re all feeling right now, but I think it’s also important that we all stay extremely aware and vigilant as we take these incremental steps forward.” – Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
– The NBL is aiming to start the new season in October, with crowds. “The preferred option is that we play our regular season at the regular time in front of our regular crowds,” League commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said.
OLYMPICS
– The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo has been postponed until July and August next year.
“The advice we’re getting from WHO (the World Health Organisation) says we should continue to plan for this date and that is what we’re doing, and that’s not contingent on a vaccine.” – senior IOC member John Coates
TENNIS
– French Open in Paris from May 24-June 7 postponed to September.
– Wimbledon in London from June 29-July 12 cancelled.
GOLF
The PGA Tour has cancelled the Players Championship. Some other events are still up in the air, with the Andalucia Masters, Indian Open and China Open all postponed.
RUGBY UNION
– The Super Rugby season was suspended in March. Rugby Australia interim CEO Rob Clarke has said the aim is a July return.
BASEBALL
– Major League Baseball team owners have approved a proposal for starting the coronavirus-delayed 2020 season in early July in ballparks without spectators, it was reported yesterday.
MORE SPORT NEWS:
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AFL wading through messy state of play amid plans to release revamped fixture Wednesday
June Premier League restart date discussed but clubs still at odds over neutral venues
Originally published as Sporting state of play: When will your favourite sport return from COVID-19 shutdown?