COVID-19: MLB announces full regular-season schedule

The coronavirus pandemic has affected more than 10 million people across the globe. Here's how it has hit global sports.

Updated : Jul 16, 2020 20:39 IST

File picture of the Chase Field - home of MLB franchise the Arizona Diamondbacks.
File picture of the Chase Field - home of MLB franchise the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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File picture of the Chase Field - home of MLB franchise the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread worldwide, affecting the lives of over 10 million people, and spreading across 213 countries.

The Premier League, like the Bundesliga, has its champion - Liverpool. Bundesliga wraps up this weekend after a successful resumption and title decision - with Bayern Munich winning its eight consecutive Bundesliga title. Wolfsburg was declared champion of the women's top flight. Soccer also returned to COVID-19-stricken United States with the NWSL Challenge Cup kicking off in Utah.

Here is how the spread of coronavirus has hit sport across the globe:

July 7

  • England opener Dom Sibley has said the abandoned Sri Lanka tour motivated him to lose 12kg during the COVID-19 lockdown for a more agile and less injury-prone body.
  • The Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association closed their practice facilities due to positive COVID-19 tests, the teams said on Monday, as the league prepared to resume its season.
  • Major League Baseball on Monday announced the full 60-game schedules for every team this season , with the regular season beginning July 23 and ending September 27.
  • A revised system for calculating world rankings when the tennis season resumes in August following a five-month stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic was unveiled by the governing body of men's tennis (ATP) on Monday.
  • The Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association closed their practice facility after a player tested positive for the coronavirus, the team confirmed Monday, as the league prepared to resume its season. Teams across the league are expected to travel to Orlando, Florida, this week to restart the season, which was abruptly suspended in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with players living and playing at Walt Disney World.
  • Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo and two Milwaukee Brewers are the latest players to test positive for COVID-19. Gallo and both Brewers -- shortstop Luis Urias and left-hander Angel Perdomo -- are asymptomatic and in quarantine, their respective teams said Monday.
  • Los Angeles FC's (LAFC) forward Carlos Vela will not travel with the squad that is headed to the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, Florida, with the Mexican choosing to stay at home with his family, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. LAFC are scheduled to leave for Florida on a charter flight later on Monday but the report says Vela will stay back to be with his pregnant wife and three-year-old son.
  • The NHL have reached a tentative agreement with the NHL Players' Association on protocols to resume the season interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides said on Monday. As part of the agreement, formal training camps will start on July 13, clubs will head to one of two hub cities on July 26 with the play-in round for playoffs beginning on Aug. 1, the two sides said in a joint news release.

July 4

July 1

June 31

June 30

  • Led by Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s 44 cricketers, who are part of a men’s high performance squad, have returned to training amid the COVID-19 pandemic after getting approval from the country’s sports ministry.
  • Six Pakistani cricketers, who were found to be COVID-19 positive ahead of the team’s departure for England last week, have now tested negative for the second time in three days making them eligible to join the squad in the UK .
  • Monday marked the 10th day of self-isolation for Nick Watney, the minimum required for PGA Tour players who test positive for the new coronavirus.
  • The One-Day series between Australia and Zimbabwe was on Tuesday postponed by mutual agreement between the two boards due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • As the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium held its first game without fans , the financial impact of the pandemic on English soccer was revealed by the national stadium's owners.
    American Harris English has become the fifth player on the PGA Tour to test positive for COVID-19, the Tour said on Monday.
  • Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers says the club's King Power Stadium is “a very safe environment” and his team will continue to work in the same way unless told otherwise by local authorities as the number of COVID-19 cases rise in the area.
     
  • Harris English has become the fifth player on the PGA Tour to test positive for COVID-19 , the Tour said.
     
  • The National Hockey League said that 26 players have tested positive for COVID-19, including 15 who reported to team facilities for "Phase 2 activities." Under the league's Phase 2 plan, clubs that met safety criteria were allowed to reopen training facilities for voluntary workouts with groups of no more than six players at a time, as of June 8. The league said 11 other players "outside of the Phase 2 protocol" also tested positive.

  • The 60-game Major Baseball League season now has a number of rules designed to keep players, coaches and umpires safe amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic, which is worsening in some regions where baseball is played. The MLB rules also prohibit unsportsmanlike conduct and require physical distancing when possible.

  • South Korea’s professional baseball league says it will require fans to wear masks and to sit at least a seat apart as it prepares to bring back spectators in the coming weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Korea Baseball Organization on Tuesday said fans will also not be allowed to eat food in the stands. Teams will also be initially allowed to sell only 30% of the seats for each game, a figure that could be expanded to as much as 50% depending on the progress in the country’s anti-virus efforts.

June 29

June 28

June 27

June 26

  • The  NBA  and the National Basketball Players Association say 16 players tested positive for the coronavirus in the first wave of mandatory tests done in preparation for the restart of the season. The player names were not disclosed; some, such as Malcolm Brogdon of Indiana and Sacramento teammates Jabari Parker and Alex Len have publicly acknowledged they have recently tested positive.
     
  • The tournament draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be made before the 32-team lineup is complete, or be delayed for two months, after FIFA rescheduled a qualifying playoff on Thursday. FIFA said its council agreed to push back a four-team intercontinental playoff round from March 2022 to June that year due to fixture congestion caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • A postponement of January's Africa Cup of Nations finals could be on the cards when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) meet next week in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • CONCACAF will revise its World Cup qualifying format following FIFA’s decision on Thursday to remove September dates from the international match calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Daniel Ricciardo accepts he will have to be a lot less tactile with his team mates when the  Formula One  season starts in Austria next week under strict health measures to counter COVID-19.
     
  • Denny McCarthy has become the third golfer on the  PGA Tour  to test positive for COVID-19 and the American has withdrawn from the ongoing Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. Nick Watney was the first Tour player to test positive last week and Cameron Champ did so at a pre-tournament screening this week.
     
  • India’s  Davis Cup  tie against Finland was postponed to 2021 as the International Tennis Federation ( ITF)  pushed back all the matches, including the Finals, to next year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • The National Rifle Association of India ( NRAI)  has announced a 32-member core group of shooters to train for the  Tokyo Olympics. The 15 shooters who won the Olympic quota have been clubbed with two additional shooters in each of the events. There are also two rapid-fire shooters selected for training even though India has not won an Olympic quota in the event as yet. There is still scope of getting the Olympic quota in rapid-fire pistol through the world rank.

June 25

June 24

June 23

  • World number one Tennis player Novak Djokovic announced he and his wife have COVID-19 after he played in a series of exhibition matches he organised in Serbia and Croatia with zero social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  • PCB confirms that seven more players have tested positive for #COVID_19, taking the total tally to 10 in the last two days.

June 22

June 21

  • When Atalanta takes to the field on Sunday , the match will hold an extra element of poignancy.Not only will it be the team’s first game in more than three months as Serie A resumes this weekend but, more than that, Atalanta plays its soccer in Bergamo, which was one of the Italian cities hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

  • World number one Novak Djokovic romped into the final of his own exhibition tournament after winning both opening singles at the Adria Tour in Croatia's coastal resort Zadar on Saturday.

     

June 20

  • American golfer Nick Watney withdrew from the RBC Heritage in South Carolina ahead of the second round on Friday after he became the first PGA Tour member to test positive for COVID-19.

  • The USTA has changed its stance after leaving out the wheelchair event at the 2020 U.S. Open was met with severe criticism from wheelchair athletes.

  • The Australian Football League has postponed a game between Essendon and Melbourne because a player who recently returned from Ireland has tested positive for COVID-19. The Australian rules AFL competition was into the second weekend of matches after restarting in the wake of the shutdown for the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Nafees Iqbal, former Bangladesh cricketer and elder brother of ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a media report. The Daily Star newspaper reported that Nafees himself confirmed that he has contracted the deadly virus and is currently in home isolation in Chittagong.

     

June 19

  • A National Women’s Soccer League player from an unidentified team has tested positive for COVID-19 just nine days before the start of the league’s Challenge Cup Tournament in Utah.

  • Inter Miami said one of its players has tested positive for the coronavirus, making it five MLS teams with at least one player in that situation. The player was not identified. The team said it is working directly with local infectious disease specialists to treat the player.

  • UEFA's decision to allocate a window for international matches in September was made to prevent the coronavirus stoppage causing further damage to national team football, its president Aleksander Ceferin said.
     
  • Cricket Australia has appointed Nick Hockley as interim CEO to replace Kevin Roberts, who resigned this week after months of criticism over his handling of the coronavirus shutdown, but the board will conduct a global search for a permanent boss. Elysse Perry suggested recruiters need only look as far as Western Australia Cricket Association boss Christina Matthews, or at senior women in head office, for a long-term solution.
     
  • England-bound Pakistani cricketers and officials will be tested for the novel coronavirus twice in a space of three days before they board a chartered flight on June 28 to travel to the U.K.
     
  • Sajan Prakash,  who was stranded at his training base in Phuket during the lockdown, has decided to stay back and train at the FINA Aquatic Centre . With the rapid spread of the pandemic in India and the Central Government not opening the  swimming  pools for public and training, Sajan thought the best option before him was to extend his stay in Phuket.

  • More than 100 days since they reported at the national camp, the Indian men’s and women’s hockey players are finally headed home for a month-long break, starting Friday.

 

June 18

June 17

June 16

June 15

 

June 14

 

June 13

June 12

June 11

June 10

June 9

June 8

June 7

  • Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal were among the clubs who stepped up their preparations for the Premier League’s return by holding practice matches.
     
  • World number one Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm of Spain will highlight a strong field in Fort Worth, Texas next week as the PGA Tour returns from a three-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • David Gower has urged the rest of world cricket to follow the West Indies in demonstrating a “spirit of co-operation” as the global game looks to get back on its feet amid the coronavirus.
     
  • The Asian Tour announced on Sunday plans to restart its coronavirus-ravaged season in September after a six-month suspension.
     
  • The Premier League's plan to restart on June 17 received a fresh boost on Saturday after the latest round of coronavirus tests produced no new positive cases in English football's top flight.
     
  • India’s Olympic-bound boxers will have to wait for some more time before resuming training as the national federation’s plan to restart the camp on June 10 in Patiala has been delayed by at least a week.
     

June 6

June 5

 

June 4

 

June 3

June 2

June 1

May 31

May 30

  • Salzburg was able to social distance and celebrate its Austrian Cup success simultaneously amid the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • NBA commissioner Adam Silver told team owners he’s targeting a July 31 return to play, US media reported, although the format for completing the season remains unclear.
     
  • England cricketers can look forward to a “bridge to the outside” if its home international season goes ahead.
     
  • Italian tennis federation president Angelo Binaghi said he was confident that the ATP and WTA Rome clay-court tournament could now be played in September.
     
  • With the La Liga being given the green light for resumption, Real Madrid star Marcelo says he cannot wait to get back to competitive football.
     
  • Marathon icons Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele will hold a virtual team relay marathon between June 6 and 7, which may act as a dry run to their unprecedented clash in London in October.
     
  • Jurgen Klopp is not bothered about when or where Liverpool lift the Premier League title as it will be an "absolutely exceptional day" regardless of the circumstances.

 

May 29

May 28

 

May 27

 

May 26

May 25

May 24

May 23

May 22

May 21

May 20

May 19

May 18

May 17

May 16


May 15

May 14

May 13

12 May

  • Afghanistan head coach Lance Klusener will have to take a 25 per cent pay cut after the country’s cricket board decided to slash salaries of the national team’s support staff to cope with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India has been rescheduled for February 17 and March 7, 2021 . The tournament was initially scheduled to be held in India from November 2-21 in 2020 and was subsequently postponed due to the pandemic.

  • Serie A clubs can return to team training from May 18 if they make adjustments to medical protocols, the Italian government has announced. Italian football bosses want to follow the example of Germany, which returns to action on May 16, and where only positive cases would be put into isolation.

  • French women's football giant Lyon will be declared league champion for the 2019-20 campaign , collecting the title for the 14th consecutive year after the season was ended by the  coronavirus  pandemic.
     
  • Next year's World Baseball Classic has been postponed due to disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The March 9-23 tournament was due to take place in the United States, Japan and Taiwan.

  • Japan's hugely popular baseball league could start as soon as June after its coronavirus postponement, according to the sport's commissioner, raising the hopes of fans.

  • A competition between Australia's four Super Rugby teams could be launched in early July as coronavirus restrictions ease, with the axed Western Force and Japan's Sunwolves as possible participants, officials revealed.
     

11 May

10 May

9 May

  • Ronaldo Sourza will not fight at UFC 249 after testing positive for coronavirus on Friday. The Brazilian was scheduled to face Uriah Hall in a middleweight bout on the preliminary card in Florida.

  • European equestrianism on Saturday became the latest sport to adjust its calendar because of the postponement of the Olympics with the announcement that it had cancelled its 2021 eventing championships. The European equestrian championships were scheduled for Haras du Pin in Normandy from 11 to 15 August, which meant they were due to start just three days after the rearranged Olympics ends.

  • World Cup-winning Australia captain Meg Lanning has used the extra time in hand amid the COIVD-19 pandemic to provide a virtual batting class to Ireland women’s cricket squad.

  • Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Fredi Bobic warned his team's fans not to show up when Bundesliga games resume – or they will cost their side points.

  • Support is growing in France to scrap relegation and expand to 22 teams next season, while still holding the summer playoff which gives finishers between third and fifth a second chance to win promotion.

  • Indian women’s archery team will get its final chance of clinching full quota at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics during the Paris Stage of the World Cup in June, next year.

  • Australia's Super Rugby competition is planning for an early July return, a spokesman said Saturday, after the coronavirus outbreak derailed the season and sparked turmoil within the sport's cash-strapped governing body.

8 May

 

7 May

6 MAY

5 May

4 May

3 May

2 May

  • Formula One hopes to finally start the season with a double-header in the naturally isolated environment around the venue for the Austrian Grand Prix. Ten races have been cancelled/postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and this idea is being discussed in a bid to make up for lost time.
     
  • Narinder Batra has said the Indian Olympic Association is serious about bidding to host the 2026 Youth Olympic Games and 2032 Summer Olympics.
     
  • With 259 regular season games still left on the schedule, the NBA is said to have postponed this year's draft lottery .
     
  • The International Table Tennis Federation on Saturday extended the suspension of its activities till end of July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • The AFI held its Special General Meeting via videoconferencing on Saturday to take stock of the road ahead in terms of planning and preparation of events. The AFI is officially targeting a return to action by September even as the tenure of its office-bearers was extended till physical elections could be held when situation becomes conducive.
     
  • Internacional players that are not willing to return to action can resign , the club's president Marcelo Medeiros has said. Football in Brazil has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic but Inter will return to training on Tuesday after government authorities in Porto Alegre granted permission.
     
  • Cologne has confirmed three people at the club tested positive for coronavirus five days before a meeting about the Bundesliga's future.

    The team will continue with its training programme, with a decision on the potential resumption of the Bundesliga set to be made on May 6.

1 May

30 April

29 April

28 April

 

27 April

26 April

  • In a big blow to the players and officials, I-League side East Bengal has terminated all the existing contracts , citing ‘Force Majeure’ in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • Chelsea has said it will not impose a pay cut on its first-team squad in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
     
  • Plans for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are “obsolete and outdated” in light of the coronavirus pandemic, IOC member and former French sports minister Guy Drut said.
     
  • NBA players will be allowed to return to team training facilities starting Friday, provided their local governments do not have a stay-at-home order prohibiting such movement still in place as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Any workouts that take place would be voluntary and limited to individual sessions only.

  • The English Football League insisted on Saturday that matches cannot resume without “suitable” testing measures for the coronavirus , adding such measures must not jeopardise the safety of front-line workers.
     
  • Spaniards will be allowed out for exercise and to take walks from next weekend, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday, in the latest move to ease one of the world's tightest coronavirus lockdowns. Meanwhile, Spain's health minister Salvador Illa said Sunday it would be “imprudent” to promise the football season would restart before the summer as the country took steps to ease one of the world's toughest coronavirus lockdowns.
     
  • The process to pick this year’s national sports awards has been delayed because of the nation-wide lockdown to combat COVID-19 pandemic and the applications will be invited next month

25 April

 

24 April

23 April

22 April

  • World Snooker Championship has been rescheduled for July due to the coronavirus pandemic, the sport's governing body World Snooker Tour said on Wednesday.
     
  • Players, staff and coaches at the Pullela Gopi Chand Academy have combined to donate Rs 2.5 lakh to the Cyberabad Police to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • A staff member of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee has tested positive for COVID-19.
     
  • Chess legends including Russia's Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik will next month take part in a new online world team tournament as the game makes moves to carry on despite the global coronavirus shutdown.
     
  • Batting great Sunil Gavaskar said India could host this year's Twenty20 World Cup instead of Australia if the coronavirus crisis eases in the subcontinent.
     
  • The ATP and WTA, along with the International Tennis Federation and organisers of the four Grand Slams, are planning create a ‘Player Relief Programme’ to provide assistance to the coronavirus-impacted players.
     
  • Cricket Australia staff, who have been stood down amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, could find new jobs stacking supermarket shelves in the coming days.

21 April

  • Cricket South Africa's CEO Jacques Faul has said the Board has not yet reached a position of financial vulnerability albeit warned it faces an uncertain future.
     
  • Italian Serie A clubs have unanimously voted to complete the season , the Italian football federation said in a statement on Tuesday.
     
  • Valencia has confirmed its first team players will accept pay cuts to limit the economic damage felt by the club.
     
  • Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has made a move that allows teams to lay off or cut the pay of major and minor league managers, coaches, trainers and full-time scouts starting May 1.
     
  • Six Super Bowl rings may get you special treatment in a lot of places but former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady learned it won’t get you anything when you’re caught working out in a park that is closed to the public.
     
  • La Liga   teams have been told they will be able to return to training provided they comply with protocols laid out by the Spanish government.
     
  • Serie A , Bundesliga and Ligue 1 likely to return, albeit behind closed doors.
     
  • UEFA   to meet with European football clubs and associations this week to try to mark out a pathway towards resuming the season .
     
  • PGA chief executive Seth Waugh has said his organisation is studying the feasibility of staging this year's Ryder Cup without fans.

20 April

  • Josh Hazlewood   admitted he was surprised by the dire financial situation Cricket Australia (CA) reportedly finds itself in, but said players were ready to play their part .
     
  • Novak Djokovic faces a dilemma if it becomes compulsory for players to get vaccinated before they can begin competing once the tennis season resumes following the hiatus created by the pandemic.

19 April

  • Wuhan Zall, the Chinese Super League team from the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, made an emotional return to the city after more than three months torn from their families.
     
  • England centre Kallum Watkins has quit Australian rugby league side Gold Coast Titans to return home to be with his father who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
     
  • Former US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March, said Saturday that he has now tested negative for the virus.
     
  • Twickenham has become the latest major sports stadium in Britain to be given a role in the fight against the coronavirus, it was announced Saturday.
     
  • Novak Djokovic said on Saturday that he, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are organising aid for players struggling with the paralysis of the game due to the coronavirus pandemic.
     

18 April

  • The Spanish Football Association (RFEF) has made it clear that if the current La Liga season is cut short or abandoned due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the four teams on top of the most recent completed round of standings will qualify for next seasons Champions League.
     
  • Major League Soccer won't resume before June 8 the league said on Friday, and is exploring multiple scenarios for completing the 2020 season.
     
  • Nippon Professional Baseball’s season openers will not take place in May due to the new coronavirus pandemic, with no firm date set for the start.
     
  • South American qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, will begin in September, the region’s governing body CONMEBOL has said.
     
  • NASCAR has suspended its May 9 race at Martinsville Speedway amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

17 April

  • Qatar has detected three more coronavirus cases among workers on World Cup stadiums, organisers said Thursday, bringing the number of infections among those involved in 2022 tournament construction to eight.
     
  • The Berlin Formula E Grand Prix scheduled for June 21 was postponed on Thursday as organisers of F1's green cousin extended the championship's coronavirus suspension to July.
     
  • The Austrian Bundesliga could make its return to action from its coronavirus-forced suspension as early as mid-May, the league's president revealed on Thursday.
     
  • The US PGA Tour on Thursday announced plans to resume in June, with the first four tournaments being closed to spectators due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Training in masks, two metres apart, Thailand's professional fighters are battling a new reality -- shuttered gyms and cancelled tournaments after the coronavirus pandemic left them suddenly out of work.

16 April

  • PGA Tour, the world’s biggest and most lucrative golf tour, is all set to resume activities in June but the first four events will be closed for public. As per the announcement, 14 events will be held in the Season right up to Tour Championships ending on September 7 besides 13 FedExCup events, including the star-studded Hero World Challenge headlined by Tiger Woods.

  • World Rugby on Thursday announced details of a $100 million coronavirus relief package aimed at supporting the global game and mitigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sport.

    The relief fund will be available for unions requiring immediate emergency funding. It is designed to help the maximum number of unions for the maximum amount of time while there is no rugby.

  • Postponing the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will provide a welcome boost to the coronavirus-hit Japanese economy next year , a senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official claimed on Thursday.

  • Bookmakers at an “emergency summit” this month will be trying to find a way to “survive the slump” triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The top US health and infectious disease specialist says the key to reopening professional sports leagues in America is to have the athletes play games in front of empty stadiums.
     
  • Large-scale public events such as football matches will remain banned in Germany until August 31 due to the coronavirus crisis, Berlin said on Wednesday, though it did not rule out allowing Bundesliga games to continue behind closed doors.
     
  • The Belgian government announced on Wednesday that mass events will be banned until 31 August, a decision that will have an impact on sport, especially football and cycling.
     
  • Charlotte Hornets player Bismack Biyombo has donated $1 million in surgical masks and hazardous materials suits through his charity to his native DR Congo.

15 April

  • With anti-doping collections curtailed because of the global lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the US Anti-Doping Agency is asking a group of leading American athletes to give urine and small dried blood samples at home.
     
  • Austria said on Wednesday it would allow the social-distancing-friendly sports such as golf and tennis to resume as it eases the coronavirus lockdown measures.
     
  • President Donald Trump is hankering for a return of live sports action, but US league supremos are taking a cautious approach to competition amid the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Dundee said on Tuesday it was still not yet ready to cast what threatens to be a deciding vote on plans to cut short the Scottish season because of the coronavirus.
     
  • After weeks of holding out hope that the Tour de France would be able to go ahead as planned, the world’s most famous cycling race was finally added to the list of sporting events postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The National Hockey League, which suspended play on March 12 amid the coronavirus pandemic, on Tuesday extended its self-quarantine recommendation to players until April 30.
     
  • Bournemouth became the latest Premier League club to reverse a decision to apply for financial assistance from Britain's furlough financial aid package on Tuesday.
     

14 April

  • The remainder of the I-League season is set to be called off with a decision likely on Thursday , it was revealed.
     
  • According to a science expert, it would be wise for the German football and music concert venues to remain closed to the public until well into 2021 with the German football season working towards a possible resumption in May.
     
  • The fate of this year's Indian Premier League rests in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country's cricket board said on Monday.
     
  • Scotland's top earning rugby players have been asked to take a pay cut amid fears of £12 million ($15 million) losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, Scottish Rugby announced on Monday.
     
  • Houston Rockets star guard Russell Westbrook has donated 650 computers to children who need the devices with schools shut down because of COVID-19.
     
  • The Tour de France is not only a French monument, but also the economic heartbeat of professional cycling itself and analysts fear heavy consequences if the coronavirus crisis forces its cancellation.
     
  • A leading Italian doctor specialising in infectious diseases said on Monday he would be against Serie A restarting its season next month.

13 April

  • With the Indian government set to extend the lockdown to curb the threat of coronavirus pandemic , the BCCI has deferred the decision on the start of the IPL 2020 season.
     
  • Badminton world champion P. V. Sindhu joined the efforts of Sports Authority of Telangana State in distributing groceries to the needy at the LB Stadium on Monday.
     
  • Star opener Smriti Mandhana on Monday revealed the Indian women cricket team has traded the bat and ball for a dice as the players are maintaining their bond by playing ludo together online.
     
  • Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday visited the Sports Authority of India’s headquarter where senior officials and other essential staff resumed operations after more than a fortnight of working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • Taiwan swung into a new baseball season -- with one team planning to place robot mannequins in their crowdless stands -- as the island bucked the global trend for scrapping sports events.
     
  • China coach Li Tie has revealed the psychological toll coronavirus took on the national football squad during a five-week training camp prolonged by the pandemic.
     
  • Former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has offered his hospital in his native Ivory Coast to the fight against the pandemic, a local politician said.
     
  • The future of the Scottish football season below the elite Premiership appears to rest with Dundee amid confusion over whether it has yet voted in a controversial ballot to determine how the campaign ends amid the coronavirus crisis.
     
  • Real Sociedad has abandoned plans to return to training on Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Former England full-back Nick Abendanon said on Sunday he was retiring due to a lack of an opportunity to prove his quality with the French Top 14 season on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

12 April

  • The Montreal WTA tournament, one of the key build-up events ahead of the US Open, was cancelled on Saturday and will not be played until 2021, officials said.
     
  • Belarus is the only country in Europe still playing football matches amid the coronavirus pandemic but the fans are staying away to protect themselves from the disease.
     
  • When America's oldest bike shop opened, the Spanish flu was ravaging New York. More than a century later, it's helping residents work and stay sane as cycling takes on a vital role during the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach’s scheduled visit to Japan in May has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee CEO Toshiro Muto told the media in an online interaction.
     
  • The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly admitted that the chances of the 2020 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting any time soon is bleak.

11 April

10 April

  • Celtic players and coach Neil Lennon have taken a significant reduction in wages to help the club with the financial cost of the coronavirus.
     
  • Italian rugby bosses agreed to take voluntary cuts in salaries and payments for senior federation members while setting up a 1.65 million euros ($1.8 million) fund to help clubs in financial difficulty as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Tottenham Hotspur legend Jimmy Greaves is still receiving treatment in hospital after falling ill earlier this week, but the club said he does not have the coronavirus.
     
  • All India Football Federation president Praful Patel said he is in discussion with FIFA to retain the original age criteria of the participating players and finalise new dates for the U-17 Women’s World Cup in India.
     
  • Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has donated ration to feed 5000 people for a month in Shivaji Nagar and Govandi area of Mumbai through Apnalaya, a non-profit organsation.
     
  • As the coronavirus spreads in Japan, the CEO of the Tokyo Games Toshiro Muto said he can’t guarantee the postponed Olympics will be staged next year — even with a 16-month delay.
     
  • NBA players will receive their full paychecks on April 15, US media reported on Thursday, but salaries could be reduced as the league remains shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Thursday scrapped controversial plans to stage a fight card later this month as the United States battles the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The suspension of the Scottish football season has been extended until at least June 10 due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Thursday.
     
  • International automobile federation (FIA) chief Jean Todt warned on Thursday that the coronavirus could threaten the future of motorsport teams and manufacturers.
     
  • The Greek Cup final on May 23 is likely to be postponed after the semi-finals set for later this month were put on hold by the country's football association on Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
     

9 April

  • The All India Football Federation has started online tutorial classes for referees across the country during the nation-wide lockdown.
     
  • If and when the NBA resumes the 2019-20 season shut down in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Portland star Damian Lillard wants the Trail Blazers to have a chance to play their way into the post-season.
     
  • Real Madrid players have agreed to cut their salaries by as much as a fifth, the La Liga club announced on Wednesday, as Spanish football remains on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • South American football chief Alejandro Dominguez on Wednesday asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to hold discussions on setting up a global fund to help football clubs during the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Rangers strongly criticised plans unveiled on Wednesday to terminate the divisions below the Premiership, warning of “severe consequences for the Scottish game”.
     
  • Players at Wales' four regions earning more than £25,000 (28,566 euros) will take a 25 percent pay cut until July 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Welsh rugby's Professional Rugby Board (PRB) announced on Wednesday.
     

8 April

7 April

6 April

  • India's chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopi Chand donated Rs. 11 lakh to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund here on Monday. Gopi Chand also contributed Rs. 10 lakh to the Telangana Chief Minister's Relief Fund and another Rs 5 lakh to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Relief Fund

  • British boxing great Nigel Benn revealed on Instagram one of his brothers Mark has died of coronavirus. The 56-year-old -- former world champion at two weights -- said Mark had been the “Joker” of the family.
     

5 April

4 April

  • The Belgian Football Association has said it is in talks with UEFA after a premature end to the Belgian Pro League and UEFA's subsequent warning that clubs will be banned from European competitions if the domestic competitions are incomplete.
     
  • FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup postponed 'in the best interest' of everyone , tournament director Roma Khanna told IANS.
     
  • The Sports Authority of India held a video conference with the Hockey India officials and the national team coaches to discuss the road map for the 16 months leading up the Tokyo Olympics.
     
  • The CONCACAF Nations League finals scheduled to be staged in Texas in June have been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the region's governing body said.
     

3 April

2 April

  • Serie A club Brescia president Massimo Cellino threatened to forfeit matches rather than let his struggling team take the field should the current season resume in Italy.
     
  • An unnamed player from Philadelphia Union became the first Major League Soccer to test positive for coronavirus two weeks after the league was suspended.
     
  • Premier League clubs that use government money for the salaries of non-playing staff, while continuing to pay players their full wage could be hit by a new tax.
     
  • The Belgian football league has recommended that the current season be declared finished early due to the coronavirus pandemic with the present league table accepted as final which means current leader Club Brugge will be declared champion.
     
  • The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced that its world rankings remain the same as released in March.
     
  • McLaren's Formula One drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris have taken voluntary pay cuts as part of a raft of cost-cutting measures amid coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte has banned Serie A clubs from returning to team training until at least April 13.
     
  • The ECB stands to lose over 300 million pounds if no cricket is played in the upcoming season in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, its chief executive Tom Harrison has said.
     
  • Andy Murray has expressed his sadness that Wimbledon has been cancelled but says health and safety must be the priority amid the coronavirus crisis.
     
  • Major League Soccer plans to cut the pay of some executives and front office personnel while the season is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
     
  • Cycling's shutdown was extended until June on Wednesday due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning French one-week stage race the Criterium du Dauphine will be postponed, organisers announced.
     
  • Russia will extend its suspension of football matches in the face of the coronavirus pandemic until May 31, the Russian football association (RFS) said on Wednesday.
     
  • World Sailing has cancelled the World Cup Series Final in Enoshima, Japan, in June.
     

1 April

  • La Liga's Barcelona reportedly wants to sign Neymar and Lautaro Martinez in the summer transfer window , while it's also being reported that Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho may not, after all, be signing for Liverpool
     
  • Former United States Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe revealed he is feeling back at 100 per cent after testing positive for coronavirus.
     
  • Former Marseille president Pape Diouf has died aged 68 after contracting coronavirus, a family source told on Tuesday.
     
  • Former Asian football champion Western Sydney Wanderers has joined other A-League clubs by temporarily laying off its squad and staff as the coronavirus shutdown takes a heavy toll on sport.
     
  • New Zealand Rugby announced wage cuts for all staff on Wednesday, warning the coronavirus pandemic could cost it up to NZ$100 million (US$60 million) in lost revenue.
     

31 March

30 March

29 March
 


28 March
 

 

27 March

 

 

 

 

 


26 March

  • Somali legend Abdulkadir Mohamed Farah passed away at a Northwest London Hospital after suffering from coronavirus on Tuesday. He was 59.

  • Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and former Manchester United star David Beckham expressed their gratitude towards healthcare workers in the United Kingdom amid the coronavirus pandemic, leading tributes to the NHS as part of the 'Clap for carers' initiative.
     
  • The English football season from the seventh-tier down has been brought to an end with results from the campaign voided, the Football Association has announced. No promotion or relegation will take place from the leagues affected in what could be an important precedent if the suspension of professional games due to the COVID-19 pandemic is extended.
     
  • New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees announced he is donating $5 million to help deliver meals to the needy in Louisiana as people struggle to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • South American football's governing body CONMEBOL said it would advance participation fees to clubs playing in its two flagship competitions that are suspended over the coronavirus pandemic. The body seeks to reduce the financial strain on clubs which are unable to generate income to pay their expenses.
     
  • The 104th Indianapolis 500 was moved from May 24 to August 23 on Thursday by IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It will mark the first time the US oval classic on the famed 2 1/2-mile (4km) oval will be staged outside of May in more than a century of races, with Frenchman Simon Pagenaud looking to defend his title.
     
  • England coach Eddie Jones, the highest paaid coach in the international rugby union,  is to join other top officials in taking a pay cut of more than 25 percent for up to three months as the Rugby Football Union tightens its belt in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Jones reportedly earns £750,000 ($912, 522) per year.
     
  • FIDE stopped the Candidates tournament in Yekaterinburg , Russia at the halfway stage after the host Russia decided to ban all flights into and out of the country owing to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The members of the International Cricket Council Board will meet via video conference on Friday to discuss contingency plans for its multiple tournaments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • World Archery on Thursday extended the suspension of international competitions until the end of June after Tokyo Olympics were postponed to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • Wimbledon management will hold an emergency meeting next week to decide if this year's tournament will go ahead.
     
  • The coronavirus pandemic has led to job cuts across the globe and keeping that in mind, Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar has offered free food at his restaurant in Lahore for the unemployed people.
     
  • Formula One (F1) team McLaren has confirmed all team personnel who were in self-isolation in Australia have returned home.
     
  • Indian paddler Takeme Sarkar left for Malaga hoping to play in the Spanish League and gain some experience, but now finds herself quarantined in an apartment there after the suspension of airline operations owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • Bangladesh’s cricketers have decided to donate half their monthly salaries to the government to fight the COVID-19 crisis.
     
  • Leeds United players, coaches and senior officials have taken a voluntary wage deferral to allow the club to continue to pay non-football staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The Spanish Moto GP due to be staged on May 3 has become the latest sporting casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The Professional Footballers' Association called for urgent talks with the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL) over the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on players and clubs.
     
  • Conor McGregor said he is donating €1million worth of protective equipment to Irish hospitals.
     
  • Union Berlin players said they will forego their wages in an effort to help the Bundesliga club ride out the coronavirus storm.
     
  • Spanish football federation president Luis Rubales says the federation is determined to save the La Liga season , even if a resumption at the start of May appears unlikely.
     
  • Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina remains hopeful of resuming the 2019-20 Serie A season, either in July or August .
     
  • Pakistan centrally-contracted cricketers will contribute Rs 5 million to the national government’s emergency fund.
     
  • Boxer Amir Khan announced that he will offer his four-storey building to the National Health Service (NHS) for treating patients.



25 March


 

24 March

23 March

  • Team Canada has withdrawn its athletes from the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics (should they happen as scheduled in July) due to coronavirus risks. The COC has urged the IOC to consider postponing the games by a year.

    Australian Olympic officials Monday said “it was clear” that the Tokyo Games could not go ahead as scheduled and told its athletes to instead prepare for the event in 2021.

  • World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has sent a letter to IOC president Thomas Bach saying that holding the Olympics in July “is neither feasible nor desirable.”

  • World Athletics also said it was prepared to shift the world championships in 2021 in order to accommodate a potential move of this year’s coronavirus-threatened Tokyo Olympic Games.

  • The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been postponed due to the coronavirus   outbreak, officials announced on Monday. It is the eighth and latest race of the 2020 season to be postponed due to the pandemic.

  • Australia’s National Rugby League became one of the last professional contact sports to shut down in response to the spread of the coronavirus, suspending its 16-team competition on Monday. The NRL, facing a possible $500 million hit to its finances if the national league ceased, spent hours on Monday considering alternatives to a open-ended suspension of the season.

  • The IOC held an emergency meeting on Sunday where it decided that while cancelling the Olympics is still not an option, a delayed start or watering down of the marquee event is still a possibility . Thomas Bach has given his committee four weeks to take a call.
     
  • Ex-Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara is currently in self-quarantine , following his government’s guidelines for those recently returning from Europe.
     
  • Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic team is well aware of the power her country wields in a situation like this , with the coronavirus raging across the globe and the IOC taking its time before deciding whether to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Games. She’s not in a big rush to use it, unless she's sure it's the right call.

  • Postponing the 2020 Olympics “ may become inevitable ” if the new coronavirus outbreak makes it impossible to hold the Games safely, Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe told Parliament on Monday.
     
  • Olympic champion swimmer Cameron van der Burgh confirmed that he had contracted COVID-19, offering insight into how coronavirus infection could affect 2020 Olympic hopefuls.

  • Half of French clubs face bankruptcy due to coronavirus , a top official insisted on Sunday, while also claiming that the French season won't resume until at best June 15.
     
  • Marco Asensio's Playstation skills not only helped Real Madrid win the FIFA 20 Challenge but also raised 140,000 euros towards UNICEF's efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Plans for Australia's Super Rugby clubs to play a domestic competition were put on hold Monday and training halted after tough new government measures to contain the coronavirus.
     
  • Rudy Gobert has made an update about his treatment available, reporting a loss of his sense of smell.
     
  • Britain’s governing Rugby Football League (RFL) has yet to give up hope of staging this year’s Ashes series with Australia as it tries to ensure clubs stay afloat during the shutdown caused by the coronavirus.
     
  • This year’s world BMX championships scheduled for May 26-31 in the United States have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
     


22 March

21 March

20 March

 

19 March



18 March

 

17 March

16 March

15 March

14 March

  • The ongoing Australia vs New Zealand ODI series and Australia's upcoming away series in New Zealand have both been postponed.
     
  • Mahendra Singh Dhoni left the Chennai Super Kings training camp following the suspension of the 13th edition of the IPL till April 15.
     
  • New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson tested negative for COVID-19 and will be returning home following the postponement of the ODI series against Australia due to the outbreak of the deadly disease.
     
  • BCCI suspends Irani Cup tie, the last fixture of men's domestic season, scheduled between Saurashtra and Rest of India in Rajkot from March 18
     
  • Fiorentina's Italian forward Patrick Cutrone and Argentine defender German Pezzella have both tested positive for coronavirus, along with a club physiotherapist, the Serie A team said.
     
  • New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson is to be tested for coronavirus and has been placed in isolation after complaining of a sore throat following the Black Caps' opening one-day international against Australia.
     
  • FIFA recommended that all international football matches scheduled for March and April be postponed.
     
  • The International Hockey Federation suspended the ongoing FIH Pro League , which also involves India, till April 15.
     
  • The Greek Super League announced postponed this weekend's playoffs until further notice.
     
  • Two players at second-division club Troyes became the first French footballers to test positive for the new coronavirus. “One player from the senior team and one from the academy have contracted the coronavirus -- COVID-19,” the club announced on Twitter. The two players were immediately placed in isolation in their homes, while the whole club remains under medical supervision.
     
  • The Boston Marathon, the world’s most celebrated footrace, was postponed until September 14

 

13 March

  • All the Matchday 26 fixtures in the Bundesliga have been postponed due to coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The BCCI has decided to suspend the Indian Premier League (IPL) until April 15 as a  precautionary measure against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The three-match ODI series between India and South Africa has been called off in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak.
     
  • The Vietnam and Bahrain GPs have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • Remaining I-league fixtures in the 2019-20 season will be played behind closed doors , the AIFF announced on Friday.
     
  • New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has left it to its players to decide on their IPL participation -- if the T20 league takes place -- in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • UEFA has announced all Champions League and Europa League matches next week have been postponed. The respective quarterfinal draws have also been postponed.
     
  • All top-flight football in England has been suspended until at least April 3 as a result of the spread of coronavirus.
     
  • The German football league has proposed the suspension of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga from March 17 until April 2 amid the coronavirus outbreak.
     
  • Nine foreign cricketers, including the English trio of Jason Roy, Alex Hales and James Vince, have decided to leave the Pakistan Super League and return home on Friday owing to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • England's tour of Sri Lanka has been called off. "Due to the Covid-19 pandemic worsening globally, and after discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket, we have today made the decision to return our players to the U.K," said ECB in a statement.
     
  • The NBA season will not resume for at least 30 days . And there is a possibility of the campaign being cancelled.
     
  • Coronavirus has hit Premier League after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Chelsea forward Callum Hudson-Odoi were tested positive for COVID-19.
  • The Australian GP, F1's opening race of the 2020 season, has been cancelled. McLaren had already pulled out of the race after a member of its crew tested positive for coronavirus while in Melbourne having shown symptoms and gone into self-isolation.
     
  • The International Olympic Committee will follow the World Health Organisation’s recommendation on whether to cancel or postpone this year’s Tokyo Olympics over the coronavirus pandemic, IOC chief Thomas Bach said.
     
  • The French football season has been suspended “until further notice” because of the coronavirus outbreak, sources close to the LFP, which runs the elite Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, told AFP . The source said that the league had taken a “unanimous” decision to stop playing with immediate effect following an emergency meeting on Friday, having previously said games would continue to be played behind closed doors until mid-April.

  • Delhi government’s decision to ban all sports activities due to the novel coronavirus pandemic has raised fresh doubts over the fate of India Open  badminton, a crucial event in the Tokyo Olympics qualification cycle.
     
  • All national and state-level championships have been postponed by the All India Chess Federation.
     
  • Australia paceman Kane Richardson has been tested negative for coronavirus . He was kept out of the opening ODI against New Zealand.
     
  • The Players championship golf tournament in Florida has been cancelled after the first round due to coronavirus concerns.
     
  • The world table tennis body suspended “all activities” until the end of April, joining a long list of sporting casualties of the new coronavirus outbreak. “Following the declaration by the World Health Organization of COVID-19 as a pandemic and the increased number of international travel restrictions, the ITTF has decided to suspend all activities provisionally, with the health and safety of athletes, coaches, officials and fans as the top priority,” a statement said.
     
  • The Paris-Nice cycling race has been cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic, with Sunday's final leg scrapped. Security measures had been stepped up for the event in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus, including keeping the public at a distance from riders during stage arrivals and departures.
     
  • The opening stages of this year's Giro d'Italia set to be held in Hungary have been cancelled due to emergency measures introduced by Budapest to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Three stages - a time-trial in the capital city followed by two stages in western Hungary - were scheduled to take place May 9-11. The Hungarian start was to be the 14th time the Giro started outside Italy.

 

12 March
 

  • Cristiano Ronaldo has been in quarantine in Madeira for several days but is not showing any symptoms of the coronavirus contracted by a Juventus team-mate.
     
  • The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to hold the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) behind closed doors after the spread of novel coronavirus pandemic in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan.
     
  • The ATP has announced a six-week suspension of the men’s professional tennis tour due to escalating health and safety issues arising from the global outbreak of COVID-19. The suspension means all ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour events scheduled up to and inclusive of the week of April 20 will not take place.
     
  • UEFA is set to announce that the Champions League and Europa League will be suspended , according to Marca . An official announcement about the same is widely expected within the next few hours.
     
  • The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has advised against hosting the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is scheduled to begin on March 29. "I think it is for the organisers to decide whether to go ahead with it or not. Our advice would be to not do it at this time but if they want to go ahead, it is their decision," said the Minister of External Affairs.
     
  • The remaining two one-dayers between India and South Africa will be played in empty stadiums in Lucknow and Kolkata due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
     
  • The Indian Super League (ISL) final ATK and Chennaiyin will be played behind closed doors , following a directive from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to national sports federations across India.
     
  • McLaren has pulled out of the the F1 season's opening race Australian GP after a team member tested positive for COVID-19.
     
  • La Liga has been suspended for the next two matchdays after Real Madrid established a self-imposed quarantine following a positive coronavirus test by one of its basketball players.
     
  • Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was the second NBA player after teammate Rudy Gobert to be tested positive for the coronavirus, according to ESPN. The Washington Wizards, which has faced the Jazz on February 29, imposed self-isolation on players, coaches and basketball operations personnel for three to four days.
     
  • The United States Soccer Federation cancelled upcoming men's and women's international friendlies.  The men's team was due to play the Netherlands on March 26 and Wales on March 30 while the women's team was to face Australia on April 10 and Brazil on April 14.
     
  • Turkey government announced it would shut all schools for two weeks and bar spectators from football matches through April after recording its first case of the coronavirus, reports AFP.
     
  • In light of the continued global spread of COVID-19, concerns expressed by Members and mindful of the importance of taking mitigating measures against the virus, the ICC Board, has decided to hold its meetings scheduled for Dubai at the end March via conference call only.
     
  • The Olympic flame for the 2020 Tokyo Games was lit in ancient Olympia amid an unprecedented health lockdown as Greece registered its first death from coronavirus. With spectators banned, an actress dressed as an ancient Greek high priestess lit the flame using the rays of the sun reflected off a concave mirror, launching a week-long torch relay in Greece before the flame is handed to Tokyo organisers on March 19.
     
  • Pakistan's cricket authorities in Karachi said they would take a decision on Bangladesh's tour of Pakistan in the next 24 hours after the Board decided to hold the Pakistan Super League matches in empty stadiums due to the coronavirus threat.
     
  • The Danish Football Union (DBU) expects its national team's friendly game against England on March 31 to be cancelled following measures taken to address the spread of coronavirus in the Scandinavian country.
     
  • China has cancelled permits for Mount Everest because of the coronavirus, ahead of the spring climbing season on the world's highest peak. Last year's traffic-clogged spring window saw a record 885 people summit Everest, 644 of them from Nepal and 241 from the northern flank in Tibet.
     
  • Cancelling the 2020 Olympics is “unthinkable” although the classification of the coronavirus as a pandemic will likely have some impact on the Games, the Tokyo city governor said.

    “It can't be said that the announcement of a pandemic would have no impact... But I think cancellation is unthinkable,” Yuriko Koike told reporters.
     
  • Melbourne Cricket Ground management has said a person who attended India vs Australia Women’s T20 World Cup Final on March 8 has been diagnosed with COVID-19 .
     
  • NBA is suspending the season until further notice after a Utah Jazz player, Rudy Gobert, tested positive for the coronavirus.
     
  • Juventus defender Daniele Rugani has tested positive for COVID-19 , the Italian club has confirmed. Following this, Inter Milan suspended all competitive activities as Inter players may have come in contact with Rugani, who was an unused substitute, in Juventus' 2-0 win over Inter.
     
  • The Indian boxing contingent, which will be returning from Jordan on Thursday after the Olympic qualifiers, will be asked to be 'home-quarantined '.
     
  • Two more members of Haas F1 team have been isolated while they are tested for the new coronavirus, taking the total to four.
     
  • The Paralympic Committee of India has decided to put on hold all national and state championships till April 15, keeping in mind government directions to avoid large gatherings in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

    It was scheduled to host national para-athletics championship in Mysore from March 26-28 and national swimming championship from March 28-20 in Bengaluru.
     
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina has called on UEFA to postpone its Euro 2020 play-off against Northern Ireland because of coronavirus worries. The Football Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (NFSBIH) has written to European football's governing body to outline its case for the March 26 game in Zenica to be called off.

    It has told UEFA the spread of coronavirus in Bosnia-Herzegovina is becoming more serious, resulting in public events being banned, with entry to the country barred to citizens of countries including Italy, Germany, France and Spain.
     
  • South America’s football federations has asked FIFA to delay their qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar because of the global new coronavirus pandemic.

    “The South American teams risk not being able to count on players they have picked and who play in Europe because they, arriving from countries with a high level of contagion, could be placed in quarantine,” said a letter from CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body, to FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.

    Qualifying matches are due to begin on March 26.
     
  • A four-team international tournament featuring European champions Portugal, World Cup finalists Croatia, Belgium and Switzerland in Qatar this month has been called off.

    The Belgian FA said it had “received the info from Qatar that due to the current situation worldwide the... tournament will have to be cancelled”.

    The March 26-30 tournament was to be used as a warm-up event for Euro 2020.
     
  • San Francisco Giants is working with Major League Baseball (MLB) to make alternative arrangements after the planned March 24 exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park was cancelled.
     
  • Seattle Mariners is hoping to relocate its opening games of the MLB regular season after Washington governor Jay Inslee announced large group events in the state would be banned throughout March.
     
  • The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will stage its flagship March Madness basketball tournament "with only essential staff and limited family attendance".

11 March

  • The Golden State Warriors will play the Brooklyn Nets behind closed doors on Thursday to limit the risk of coronavirus, the NBA team announced in a statement on Wednesday.
     
  • “Due to escalating concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, and in consultation with the City and County of San Francisco, tomorrow night's game versus the Nets at Chase Center will be played without fans,” the Warriors said.
     
  • The Warriors are the first NBA team to opt to play behind closed doors since the coronavirus crisis erupted.
     
  • The start of the 2020 Moto GP season has been delayed again with the Argentinian Grand Prix rescheduled for November due to the coronavirus outbreak.
     
  • FIFA has rescheduled its Congress until September amid the global spread of coronavirus. The 70th FIFA Congress was due to take place on June 5 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but the date has now been moved to September 18.
     
  • The last three races of the women's World Cup skiing season due to be held in the Swedish resort of Are from Thursday have been cancelled because of coronavirus, the International Ski Federation said.

    “The health and welfare of the athletes and all other participants, as well as the general public are in the forefront and the priority of FIS and all stakeholders,” the body said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

    The decision means the current leader of the standings, Italy's Federica Brignone, wins the crystal globe for the first time in her career.
     
  • Roma's match with Sevilla and Inter versus Getafe have officially been cancelled by UEFA. The Europa League last-16 first legs have been called off due to new travel restrictions imposed by the Spanish government on flights to and from Italy in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

    "Further decisions on the two matches will be communicated in due course," UEFA said in a statement.
     
  • The Copa del Rey final between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao has been postponed due to coronavirus pandemic, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed.

    Basque sides Sociedad and Athletic were due to play for the trophy in Seville on April 18 but the match has been pushed back by the RFEF. According to reports in the Spanish media, the game is set to be rescheduled for May 30.
     
  • 2. Bundesliga side Hannover as confirmed that its defender Timo Hubers has tested positive for coronavirus and has self-isolated once he had learned he had been in contact with someone who had the virus.
     
  • The prestigious Indian Open golf tournament, scheduled to take place from March 19-22 at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram, has been postponed .

    “All parties are looking into the possibility of rescheduling the tournament at some point later in the year, but there are no definitive plans at this stage,” read the statement from Asian Tour.

    The event was scheduled to take place from March 19-22 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here.
     
  • With four new coronavirus cases being reported, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) South centre chose to close the facility as precautionary measure.
     
  • The two scheduled T20 matches between Asia XI and World XI in Bangladesh have been postponed. The Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka was slated to host the matches on March 21 and 22.
     
  • Kenya is seeking the postponement of this month's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Group G leader Comoros, due to an international travel ban on athletes due to the coronavirus outbreak.
     
  • Bangladesh on Wednesday confirme it will go on tour to play Ireland and that Australia will visit in June. Bangladesh will play three ODIs against Ireland in Belfast in May followed by four T20Is. Australia will play two tests in Chittagong and Dhaka, respectively in June.
     
  • The Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Karachi, scheduled to be played between March 12 and 17, will go on as scheduled despite the coronavirus outbreak, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Wednesday.
     
  • Manchester United's last-16 Europa League fixture against LASK Linz will be played behind closed doors in Austria “following guidance from the Austrian government”.
     
  • Postponing or cancelling the Tokyo Olympics is “inconceivable” , Japan’s Olympic minister has said, as the new coronavirus outbreak raises fears the event could be scrapped.
     
  • The Premier League clash between Manchester City and Arsenal has been postponed as a precaution due to coronavirus. The decision comes based on medical advice, "after it emerged that personnel from Arsenal have come into contact with the Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, who has been named as a positive case of COVID-19."
     
  • Juventus vs Lyon in the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie will be played behind closed doors in Turin next week, the French club's president Jean-Michel Aulas, reports AFP .
     
  • Indonesia has postponed its debut Formula E race in Jakarta over concerns about the spread of coronavirus. Citing orders from Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, Formula E said the electric car race would be pushed back from June 6 to an unspecified later date.
     
  • The India Open Super 500 tournament, a crucial event for the Tokyo Olympic qualification, will be held without any spectators due to the global novel coronavirus outbreak.

10 March

  • The 2020 ITTF World Tour Japan Open postponed due to coronavirus outbreak. The decision was made with the health and safety of players, officials and fans as the top priority, whilst keeping the window open to host the event later in the year.

  • Manchester United's Europa League match at LASK will be played behind closed doors as the coronavirus plays havoc with the European football calendar, both clubs have announced.

    “LASK announces that, given the current situation, the home game against @ManUtd on Thursday will take place without spectators,” the Austrian Bundesliga side said on Twitter .

    The club made the decision about Thursday's last 16, first leg clash following advice from authorities in the country.



    A statement on United's website said: “Following guidance from the Austrian government, we have been informed by (European governing body) UEFA and LASK that the Europa League game on Thursday will be played behind closed doors.”
     

  • The MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas has been rescheduled for November due to the spread of coronavirus. Organisers said in a statement on Tuesday that the race will be moved from April 5 to November 15, with the Valencia Grand Prix to be held a week later.
     
  • The Euro 2020 warm-up match between Germany and Italy in Nuremberg on March 31 will be played behind closed doors, the German Football Association (DFB) has announced.

    The game is one of several high-profile fixtures in Germany to be played without fans in the coming weeks, including Saturday’s Ruhr derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, and Bayern Munich’s Champions League clash with Chelsea next week.
     
  • The Euro 2020 play-off match between the Republic of Ireland and Slovakia in Bratislava on March 26 will be played behind closed doors, the Slovak Football Association (SFA) has announced.
     
  • The SFA executive committee made the decision “as all public bodies have been banned from organising any public, sports or cultural events” in the country of 5.4 million people, SFA official Peter Surin told AFP .
     
  • Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola clearly isn't a fan of closed door matches . He says he'd rather not play the games than play without fans. What's your take on his view?
  • The Champions League last-16 second leg between Barcelona and Napoli will be played behind closed doors due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus. The announcement comes after Italy suspended all sporting activity until April 3 as part of a nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19.
     
  • The final round of the Santosh Trophy, an association football knock-out competition India, has been postponed in wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
     
  • The 35th edition of the Marathon des Sables, an ultramarathon across the Moroccan Sahara scheduled from April 3 to 13, has been postponed to September due to coronavirus. The six-stage, 250-km annual event attracts around 1,000 competitors.
     
  • Because of coronavirus, spectators will be barred from the last two races of the men's Skiing World Cup, on Saturday and Sunday in Slovenia, where the overall champion will be decided. The resort is just 7 kilometres from the Italian border.

9 March

8 March

  • The Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix will be held behind closed doors .
     
  • UEFA bans all pre-match handshakes between players and officials in all its competitions until further notice.

6 March

  • The Formale E Rome E-Prix is postponed.
     
  • The Gymnastics World Cup, taking place in Qatar, will be held behind closed doors.

5 March

  • The Premier League bans pre-match handshakes between players and officials.
     
  • Valencia's Champions League last-16 tie at home to Atalanta will be played behind closed doors.

4 March

  • International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach says there was no talk of "cancellation" or "postponement" regarding Tokyo 2020 at an executive board meeting.
     
  • Italy's sports minister says Serie A games could be played behind closed doors.
     
  • The inaugural Basketball Africa League is postponed.
     
  • Badminton Asia Championships are moved from China to the Philippines.

3 March

  • The Coppa Italia semifinal second leg between Juventus and AC Milan is postponed .
     
  • Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers bans its players from taking selfies with fans.

2 March

1 March

  • The season opening MotoGP in Qatar is cancelled .
     
  • The Serie A match between Sampdoria and Hellas Verona is postponed.

29 February

  • Five Serie A matches, including Juventus vs Inter Milan, get postponed .

28 February

25 February

  • World Table Tennis Championships in South Korea are postponed.
     
  • Japan's J-League postpones all domestic games until the middle of March.
     
  • Five Serie A matches are ordered to be played behind closed doors.

21 February

  • China's 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Maldives and Guam are moved to Thailand and will be played behind closed doors.
     
  • The first-stage draw for the Table Tennis World Championships is postponed.

18 February

  • China forfeits a Davis Cup tie because its men's team was unable to travel to Romania for its play-off clash.

17 February

  • The Asian weightlifting championships are relocated from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan.

14 February

  • The European Tour's Maybank Championship and Volvo China Open are postponed.
     
  • FIBA Asia Cup basketball qualifying matches between Japan and China, Philippines and Thailand, and China and Malaysia are postponed.

12 February

7 February

  • Hockey Pro League matches between China and Australia are postponed.

4 February

  • Asian Champions League matches involving Chinese clubs Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG are postponed until April.

2 February

  • The Formula E motor racing series abandons plans for a race in Sanya (China).

30 January

29 January

27 January

  • The Women's Olympic qualifying tournament is relocated to Serbia.

26 January

22 January

 

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