Premier League in talks Over fanless return

The Premier League has begun talks with the UK government over how they can return to football action that has been shut down as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It isn’t just the matches themselves that are being missed, but also related industries such as sports betting.

As the world is making the transition to do more over the World Wide Web, however, we can expect to see such industries as sports betting grow in popularity online. One big reason is that online betting venues offer so much more, such as online poker and scratch games. Compared to the poor selection at betting shops, almost every online casino has plenty of interesting scratch card games on offer. Betting fans don’t even have to wait until the pandemic is over, as these games are available right now. Of course, that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to see Premier football return sooner rather than later. Just when that will be, however, is hard to say at this point.

Preparatory Discussions

The premier league’s medical officer met with officials from the UK government to discuss how events could take place in bio-secure locations when the lockdown starts to ease. Chief medical officers from other sports were also at the meeting. Those briefed on preparatory discussions said that the Premier League seemed to be getting ready to get back into action before other competitions.

Lost Income

All 20 clubs talked over plans to stage games in stadiums without fans from June 8. The result of this would, of course, be lost income from tickets. It would also mean, however, that broadcasting contracts would be for the remainder of the season. Those contracts are worth £762 million.

The government seems keen on the plans, with UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden telling parliament that discussions have been held to get the football season in motion as soon as possible to support the football community. Nothing, however, is set in stone.

Some clubs in the Premier League have expressed concern over plans to stage all matches left on the schedule at approved neutral venues, according to sources familiar with the talks. While taking away home advantage, the move would also affect advertising deals with each club.

Sensitive Talks

And while there are negotiations on the cards with the league’s major pay-tv broadcasters, BT and Sky, talks are sensitive. These broadcasters are losing monthly revenue after customers have paused subscriptions due to a lack of live sporting events taking place.

Pay-tv operators are less than keen on the idea of entertaining rival broadcasters, such as Amazon and the BBC, to screen any non-televised games on the rest of the schedule. Executives from BT and Sky said that they are capable of showing more games and don’t want to give their customers any reason to cancel their subscriptions.

There have also been concerns expressed over how required medical protocols should be implemented to stage games. FIFA’s medical committee chair Michel D’Hooghe expressed doubt that football could resume play in a safe manner for many weeks yet. Executives from leading clubs fear that fans will stand outside stadiums while matches are taking place.

Some sports officials in Britain have been encouraged by Germany’s Bundesliga, which was set to return in May. Germany has been carrying out 100,000 tests a day, which is a far higher number than other countries in Europe. Since testing has revealed 10 positive cases, however, doubts have since been cast over the return of the Bundesliga. 

Private Testing

The Premier League plans to fund and source private testing, installing machines at club training grounds to allow twice-weekly testing of players. We’ve already seen the postponement of Euro 2020. Other posts in the UK are making their own plans. Rugby Football Union estates that their revenue will take a £40-50 million hit over the next year and a half as a result of the pandemic. This could increase to £100 million if the autumn international matches take place without fans or if no matches at all are held for the remainder of the year.             

Premier League in talks Over fanless return

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