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
- Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Lionel Hollins and New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik
won't join their teams in the NBA's Orlando-area ”bubble,” according to media reports on Friday.
- American tennis player Frances Tiafoe
has tested positive for the coronavirus , the 22-year-old revealed on social media on Saturday.
- The Miami Heat
closed its practice facility for training after a second player tested positive for the coronavirus, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.
- There have been
no positive cases from more than 4,000 coronavirus tests carried out on Formula One personnel over the past seven days, F1 said on Saturday.
- The suspension of all cricketing action because of the COVID-19 pandemic
has created problems aplenty for broadcasters and administrators alike.
- Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has become
the first NASCAR driver to test positive for COVID-19 and will miss this weekend’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports said on Friday.
- Australia’s top cricketers
have reached an agreement with Cricket Australia that it should postpone its assessment of future revenue during the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.
July 1
- Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho says
he is unhappy with the long break between matches his team has had since the Premier League resumed following the COVID-19 shutdown.
- The Indian junior women’s hockey
team was confident of a good performance at the Junior Asia Cup in Kakamigahara , Japan, before the COVID-19 pandemic intervened, according to team captain Suman Devi Thoudam.
- The NBA's ability to complete the season in its Walt Disney World Resort ”bubble” depends on participants following the rules to keep everyone inside free from the coronavirus.
June 31
- The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Challenge Cup
kick-off brought in record-breaking viewership as the league became the first in North America to return from the COVID-19 shutdown.
- The Denver Nuggets closed its training facility over the weekend after two members of its party that was set to travel to Orlando for the season's restart tested positive for COVID-19, a source close to the matter confirmed.
- American Chad Campbell has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the sixth PGA Tour golfer to do so, the Tour said on Tuesday.
- More than six months have passed since he last stepped onto the ring but India’s Vijender Singh is hopeful of getting back to competition in the next three months after his U.S.-based promoter restarted bouts earlier this month.
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
- AC Milan
paid solemn tribute to victims of the coronavirus pandemic during a 2-0 win over Roma in Serie A. It was Milan’s first home match since the lockdown and the team put up a huge banner on Sunday along one side of the empty San Siro stadium that read “Together Forever,” dedicated to victims.Under the banner, 13 Milan shirts with victims’ names on them were placed over the seats.
- Dylan Frittelli became the
fourth PGA Tour player to test positive for the coronavirus and had to withdraw from Rocket Mortgage Classic next week in Detroit.
- Sanjay Dobal, a former Delhi all-rounder passed away on Monday morning due to
complications arising from the coronavirus infection .
The Prague Open that is set to take place from August 10-15 will be witnessed by as many as 2,000 fans , organisers said. The WTA event that will be played on the Sparta Prague clay courts will be the first tournament after the coronavirus shutdown.
Major League Soccer (MLS) has said 20 players and six club staff have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the 'MLS is Back Tournament' set to begin on July 8.
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the first NBA player to reportedly test positive for COVID-19 and who drew the ire of numerous people when the league initially suspended the season, says he is still not fully recovered more than three months after his original diagnosis.
June 28
- A
31-member Pakistan contingent, including 20 players, reached England on Sunday as six out of their 10 coronavirus-infected cricketers were held back despite returning negative when tested the second time.
- England spinner
Jack Leach has revealed he
developed symptoms similar to those of COVID-19 while in South Africa earlier this year.
- The proposed National camp for shuttlers from July 1 is
unlikely to go ahead , according to a top official of the Sports Authority of Telangana State.
- Three days after announcing he had tested positive for COVID-19,
Sacramento Kings forward
Jabari Parker was spotted
playing tennis in Chicago without a mask , after reportedly going out to a restaurant recently.
June 27
- Even as the NBA was unveiling its schedule for the conclusion of the regular season, commissioner Adam Silver admitted on Saturday that the league's “bubble” in central Florida can't be made totally safe from the coronavirus.
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
- The Berlin Marathon will not take place this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers said on Wednesday.
- Local sponsors have chipped in a record USD 3.3 billion to support the postponed Tokyo Olympics . That’s at least two times more than any previous Olympics, and it amounts to almost 60 percent of the income for the privately funded operating budget. Another 14 percent of the income is budgeted from ticket sales, which could be in jeopardy with empty venues a possibility because of the coronavirus.
- The caddies for Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell have tested positive for the coronavirus, leading both major champions to withdraw from the Travelers Championship in Connecticut on Wednesday.
- World Cup-winning fast bowler bowler Mark Wood said
English cricket could lose “the next Ben Stokes or Joe Root” if the game doesn’t resume at the grassroots at the earliest.
- Football clubs around Europe are
increasingly turning to virtual “fan tokens” to raise money and enhance fan engagement . And the money can pile up fast.
- The first game at Liverpool's home since the COVID-19 stoppage, brought four superb goals as Klopp's side moved within two points of securing its first league title in 30 years.
June 24
- Tennis Australia will give local professionals a chance to earn income while global tours remain suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic when the UTR Pro Tennis Series starts in Sydney on Saturday, TA CEO Craig Tiley said on Wednesday.
- The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement that Jofra Archer will undergo a second test for COVID-19 on Wednesday after a member of his household felt unwell over the weekend.
- Hours after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that Mohammad Hafeez was one of the players to have tested positive for COVID-19, the all-rounder took to social media to reveal that his latest test has returned negative.
- The Asia Cup will go ahead as scheduled later this year in either Sri Lanka or the UAE, Pakistan Cricket Board CEO Wasim Khan has asserted.
- Three players from Paris Saint-Germain and four from fellow French football team Toulouse have tested positive for the coronavirus , their clubs said on Tuesday.
- A successful bid to host the 2032 Olympic Games in Queensland could help Australia recover from the economic impact of COVID-19 , the country's Olympic chief John Coates has said.
- Andy Murray criticised world number one Novak Djokovic for staging the Adria Tour exhibition tournament without adopting any COVID-19 precautions after the Serbian and three other players tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
- Cameron Champ has withdrawn from this week's event in Cromwell, Connecticut after he tested positive for COVID -19 during pre-tournament screening, the PGA Tour said on Tuesday.
- Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) suspended golf activities and shut the club premises here after a member tested positive for COVID-19.
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
- Croatian tennis player Borna Coric, who attended Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour exhibition tournament, has tested positive for COVID-19 , the world number 33 said on Monday.
- The lone Indian on the LPGA Tour, Aditi Ashok, is looking forward to finally getting back on the golf course.
Major League Baseball saw 40 players and staff members test positive for COVID-19 in the past week, USA Today reported on Sunday as talks on how to get a 2020 season underway dragged on. The newspaper cited two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying the coronavirus cases had ramped up the urgency of negotiations between owners and players on a framework for starting a season that was originally scheduled to begin in March.
The NBA is concerned about the growing number of coronavirus cases in Florida but intends to go ahead with its plan to restart the season in a “bubble” in the State
Two-time major champion So Yeon Ryu closed with an even-par 72 to win the Korea Women’s Open in her first tournament in four months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- On its return after the three-month stoppage due to COVID-19, Liverpool found itself frustrated by Carlo Ancelotti’s well-drilled Everton side.
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
- Just one person has
tested positive in the latest round of coronavirus testing in the Premier League.
- UEFA has eased its rules for monitoring spending by Europe's top soccer clubs due to financial instability caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- The
UEFA Women’s Champions League will end with an eight-team straight knock-out tournament at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao and the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastián, the UEFA Executive Committee has announced.
- International viewership for Spanish football games
increased by nearly 50 percent after they returned from the break caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the league said.
- UEFA has
eased its rules for monitoring spending by Europe's top soccer clubs due to financial instability caused by the
coronavirus
pandemic.
- The
French Open, unlike its U.S. counterpart,
will be held with fans when it takes place from Sept. 27-Oct. 11, the head of the French tennis federation (FFT) said on Wednesday.
- McLaren is
considering selling a minority stake in its once-dominant Formula One team to raise funds to help the company weather the COVID-19 crisis.
- The U.S. Tennis Association
outlined plans for running a scaled-down, no-spectators version of its Grand Slam tournament amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Premier League returned to the pitch as holder Manchester City beat Arsenal 3-0 on Wednesday.
Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden were on target for Pep Guardiola's team .
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chiefs have cancelled the annual awards ceremony, which was scheduled to take place in Qatar in December, because they say it would be inappropriate in the wake of the deaths caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
June 17
- India’s chief national badminton coach P. Gopi Chand is
keeping his fingers crossed on the subject of re-opening his two Academies . The sports fraternity is baffled by the logic of opening malls, restaurants and liquor shops while keeping the Badminton Academies closed.
- The re-scheduled French Open will begin a week later on September 27 following a qualifying draw, organisers confirmed on Wednesday after the ATP and WTA Tours announced their revised calendars.
- The Champions League will finish with a 12-day mini-tournament in Lisbon, restarting in August after a five-month suspension caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Pakistan Cricket Board chairman
Ehsan Mani on Wednesday said he does not see the T20 World Cup taking place later this year in Australia, saying the cricketing world can’t take a risk in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In a statement, the WTA released a provisional calendar , adding that the coronavirus-enforced break would come to an end at the Palermo Ladies Open.
- The ATP, in collaboration with the WTA, ITF, USTA and the FFT, has issued a revised provisional calendar that sets a pathway for the resumption of the Tour for the first time since the suspension of professional tennis in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Following the approval from New York State on Tuesday, decks were cleared for the 2020 US Open to be held from August 31 to September 13 behind closed doors in New York. The Cincinnati Masters, which is set to precede the Major at the same site, will mark the revival of competitive tennis after COVID-19.
The move has however elicited mixed reactions from the Indian players.
- Two of Brazil's top soccer clubs, Botafogo and Fluminense, said on Tuesday they would defy an order from their federation to resume competitive play this week as the country's daily coronavirus death toll hovers around 1,000.
June 16
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the
US Open will be held in late August as part of the state’s reopening from shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Nick Kyrgios says the United States Tennis Association is being “selfish” by pressing ahead with the US Open on its original dates from August 31 to September 13.
Cricket Australia confirmed on Tuesday that chief executive Kevin Roberts has resigned following months of criticism over his leadership during the coronavirus shutdown.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an abrupt u-turn on Tuesday and agreed to keep funding meals for needy pupils over the summer holidays , after a campaign headed by football star Marcus Rashford.
With the Premier League set to resume after a 100-day shutdown, the organisers are already making plans to counter a second spike of coronavirus infections that would prevent games from going ahead yet again.
The Russian anti-doping agency will resume testing athletes after a break of nearly three months owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
June 15
- In a first of its kind, the Sports Authority of India
(SAI) used artificial intelligence to conduct an online exam for aspiring coaches from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Malaysia . The exam was conducted following an extensive 21-day online ‘Coach Education Programme’ amid the COVID-19 enforced lockdown.
- The United States Tennis Association will hold the U.S. Open this year without fans amid the COVID-19 outbreak even though some top players have expressed concerns about attending the tournament due to the virus.
- After a long hiatus, track and field athletes have resumed training at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday . The stadium, managed by Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) and used intermittently recently as a COVID quarantine centre, was shut for sports training for nearly three months.
- From the new safety protocols to a virtual matchday experience,
here's everything you need to know ahead of the Premier League's return on June 17.
From a string of cancellations to fears of a fall in investment in the women’s game , here are the developments from biggest tournaments from around the world.
NBA teams will be tested every other day for the coronavirus beginning June 23 as the league prepares to resume the season, according to multiple reports.
June 14
- The Premier League said on Saturday that
there two positive test results from their latest round of coronavirus tests of players and staff.
- The discussion
about how to shine the cricket ball is a “bloody storm in a teacup” for Greg Chappell and he feels sweat will be as effective for shining the ball.
- Rebellion Williams Esports won the first virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday, the day the real race was scheduled to finish before being postponed to September due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Frustrated at not being able to resume training,
Virdhawal Khade on Sunday said he may consider retiring from swimming if swimming pools continued to remain shut.
- England manager
Gareth Southgate has said it was an easy decision to accept a 30% wage cut to help the Football Association (FA) mitigate the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The head of Italy's football federation
(FIGC) hopes that stadiums can be opened to at least some fans next month if the rate of coronavirus infections continues to drop in the country.
- West Indies coach Phil Simmons feels
playing behind close doors against England will favour the visiting side when international cricket resumes next month in a “bio-secure” environment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Former Australia captain Mark Taylor on Sunday warned
that ban on the usage of saliva runs the risk of upsetting balance between bat and ball in Test cricket.
- La Liga returned to action after a three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Normal service resumed as Lionel Messi helped Barcelona
make a flying return against Mallorca.
- World number one Novak Djokovic, Austrian Dominic Thiem and Germany's Alexander Zverev won their opening Adria Tour matches in contrasting fashio n as the two-day charity event got underway on Saturday.
June 13
- Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty, AC Milan's Ante Rebic was sent off as
Juventus limped into the Coppa Italia final courtesy of an away goal on aggregate.
- There were no masks or social distancing required when more than 20,000 fans poured into the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin to watch
Saturday’s match between the local Highlanders and the Chiefs.
- Shahid Afridi announced he has tested positive for COVID-19. The Pakistan star said he had been unwell since Thursday.
June 12
- Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev on Friday supported Novak Djokovic and expressed their hesitation over playing at this year's US Open amid the coronavirus (COVID-19).
- Accepting the need to embrace new playing conditions,
the ICC, by deciding to allow a “Covid substitute” has indicated it is keen to get on with the challenges posed by the pandemic.
- World Athletics president Sebastian Coe on Friday said the
organisation's main focus will be on ensuring athletes' safe return to training and competition , in a way that prevents the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
- Adapting to the conditions and safety protocols in the U.K. will be difficult for Pakistan’s players but
they are ready for the challenge, Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has said. England will host Pakistan for a three-Test series and a T20 series in a bio-secure environment to minimise the risk posed by the novel coronavirus.
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may have started preparing for the Indian Premier League later this year, but
it seems to be in no hurry to resume training for India’s elite cricketers.
- New Zealand Sports Minister
Grant Robertson assures cricket will resume in summer , requests fans to cough in their elbow at Super Rugby Aotearoa.
- The IOA president Narinder Batra says any proper
resumption of sporting activities would only be possible after a vaccine is developed.
- Coaches and support staff have had “virtually no income” for the past three months.P. Gopichand and athletes Ashwini Nachappa and Malathi Holla
launch ‘Run to the Moon’ to raise funds for badminton academies and sports foundations.
- Senior India speedster Ishant Sharma believes that the
ban on saliva to shine the ball will make things easy for batsmen and it needs to be ensured that the competition remains fair.
The BCCI on Friday called off the Indian cricket team’s short tour of Zimbabwe in August due to the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused the cancellation of Formula One 's Singapore, Japan and Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
India’s tour to Sri Lanka, originally scheduled for June-July, has been officially called off . Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed the development in a statement.
Premier League players will not need to wear face masks arriving at stadiums, in dressing rooms or on the substitutes’ bench when the competition’s 100-day coronavirus shutdown ends next week.
With a video game look for fans at home, the Spanish league resumed on Thursday with Sevilla defeating Real Betis 2-0 in the Seville derby.
The Swedish soccer season will finally get underway on Sunday with games in the top two divisions preceded by a minute's silence for people who have died or been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Swedish Elite Football has announced.
The absence of fans at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas as the PGA Tour resumed play on Thursday after a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic took plenty of getting used to for the players.
Top-flight Romanian soccer is scheduled to resume on Saturday but without two of its teams, after coronavirus cases among their staff, professional league association LPF said on Friday.
June 11
After nearly a month of play amid the coronavirus pandemic, German soccer is ready to relax some of its strictest hygiene measures .
La Liga president Javier Tebas has warned players they could be made to attend closed training camps if the league's protocol on social gatherings is not adhered to.
The 2020 MotoGP season will start on Friday, July 19 , with two back-to-back races scheduled at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain.
Liverpool could win the Premier League at the home of city rival Everton after local authorities approved Goodison Park being used for the game rather than a neutral venue.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is exploring various options to ensure that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is held this year.
- The suspense over T20 World Cup remains as the International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to wait and watch.
- Mexico’s first-division soccer teams said they will return to the field after four months without play because of the coronavirus pandemic, but there will be no spectators when the first matches resume July 24. The MX League said that the new season will run July 24-December 12 and that four more teams will be able to qualify for post-season play, for a total of 12.
June 10
- Major League Soccer said on Tuesday it will restart the season after being shut down for almost three months for the COVID-19 outbreak on July 8 with a tournament without fans at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
- The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) hopes to resume the cricket season — put off for a few months due to the coronavirus pandemic — in the first week for July.
- After the COVID-19 pandemic halted the PGA Tour on March 1 2, world’s five top-ranked golfers will be part of the field when action returns with the $7.5 million Charles Schwab Cup at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, from Thursday.
- The Saurashtra Premier League T20 — inaugurated in 2019 and scheduled right after the Indian Premier League — is doubtful this year.
- Back on the turf after more than two-month
lockdown, Indian men’s hockey captain Manpreet Singh and his men are slowly adapting to the new normal in times of COVID-19 pandemic , which includes using sanitisers during every break and drinking water from individual bottles.
- Pakistan great Wasim Akram feels bowlers would become “robots” after the International Cricket Council (ICC) approved the Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee's recommendation to ban the act of shining the ball with saliva as a precaution for the COVID-19 pandemic.
- With the easing of lockdown restrictions, t
he Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) is gearing itself up for the “new normal” with a slew of measures conforming to government regulations to create a safe environment at the iconic MMRT circuit in Chennai, while also carrying out upgrades to the track.
- The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has sent notices to around 25 of the 110 athletes in its National Registered Testing Pool (NRTP) for failing to disclose their whereabouts during the national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- As European soccer prepares to crown national champions in empty stadiums, there is more for fans to celebrate in Serbia.
Red Star Belgrade can host the biggest crowd for a game in Europe since soccer’s shutdown in the pandemic ended last month , when the Serbian title winner completes its season on June 20.
- Top Indian
boxers will have to wait for a few more weeks for the resumption of the national camp.
- The Badminton World Federation (BWF) cancelled the 2020 Swiss Open and the 2020 European Championships on Wednesday. The BWF, the only world body to announce a packed five-month calendar for 2020, called off the two events due to non-availability of dates.
- Friday will mark the return of La Liga after a 93-day hiatus as the Spanish top division launches a five-week dash to wrap up the league. The La Liga is the second top European football league to resume amid the coronavirus pandemic, following the Bundesliga’s return last month.
- Manchester United's friendly against Stoke City was cancelled at the last minute on Tuesday Championship club's manager Michael O'Neill tested positive for COVID-19
- Everton's first team players have agreed to defer up to 50% of their wages for the next three months to help mitigate the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the English Premier League club's chief executive said on Tuesday.
- Jordan Spieth said he hopes the work he put in during the three-month suspension of the PGA Tour due to the coronavirus outbreak will help the former world number one rediscover his form when he tees it up at the Colonial Country Club on Thursday.
June 9
- The Australian government sports minister, Richard Colbeck , believes that a World Cup Down Under could still be possible, with restrictions on spectator numbers.
- The
Pakistan Cricket Board will not organise a training camp for the men’s team prior to its England tour.
- League One
and League two clubs have agreed that if the current season is ended before completion, then
promotion and relegation outcomes will be decided on a points per-game (PPG) table with play-offs to be played.
- France's highest administrative court has rejected an appeal by three clubs to reverse the decision to end the Ligue 1
season early.
- The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) met by teleconference to discuss the fate of the Asia Cup. However, no decision has been taken yet, and the council members could hold further meetings later this month to deliberate on the issue.
Peru’s first division football clubs will have more than seven weeks to prepare for their return to competition after the COVID—19 hiatus. In a video conference call conducted by the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF), club representatives on Monday approved a timetable that envisages a restart of the Liga 1 Apertura tournament on July 31, reported Xinhua news agency. Players will undergo testing in the coming days and must initially train individually before moving to small groups. Entire squad training will be permitted from early July.
June 8
- Kolkata giant
Mohun Bagan on Monday announced that it would reopen the club tent for members and supporters on June 15 as part of the lockdown relaxation in line with the government guidelines.
- La Liga India managing director Jose Antonio Cachaza believes the
possibility of reopening selective stadiums for fans before the end of the 2019-20 season would disrupt the level playing field.
- The Mumbai Cricket Association
(MCA) adopted a wait and watch approach for resumption of cricket activity as the number of positive cases of COVID-19 is still on the rise.
- Italy's football federation (FIGC) decided on Monday
to use an algorithm to calculate final rankings in the top-flight Serie A soccer championship if a new surge in COVID-19 cases made it impossible to complete the season.
- Fans will be allowed to fill stadiums when top-flight rugby resumes in New Zealand this weekend, organisers said on Monday, hailing the move as a world first after professional sport’s coronavirus shutdown.
- The Tamil Nadu Sailing Association
(TNSA) is looking to start training for its top sailors from June 15 at the Port of Chennai.
- The Spanish league is not ruling out the return of fans to stadiums this season. League president Javier Tebas said on Sunday he is in favour of having fans back as soon as regions are cleared by health authorities.
A minute of silence will be held before all La Liga games in memory of the victims of coronavirus, the league and Spanish football Federation (RFEF) announced on Sunday.
La Liga will use virtual images of stands in television broadcasts with added 'fan audio', produced by the makers of the FIFA video game, when it returns to action on Thursday.
West Indies pace legend Michael Holding feels the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has every right to hold the Indian Premier League (IPL) later this year if the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia is postponed.
Australia goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak has tested positive for coronavirus, his Japanese club Nagoya Grampus announced, becoming the second player infected at the J-League side. The 31-year-old, who won the last of his eight caps for the Socceroos in 2017 but is usually back-up to first-choice goalkeeper Matt Ryan, is showing no symptoms of the virus, the club said.
Six Chinese under-19 internationals have been banned from playing for six months and forced to write self-criticism essays after flouting coronavirus prevention rules to go drinking late at night. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) suspended the six until the end of November and the players were hit with additional penalties by their clubs after they were discovered leaving the team's Shanghai training base on May 30 without permission.
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
- Former Indian footballer
E.Hamsakoya succumbed to COVID-19 early on Saturday. The wing-back played for Maharasthra State in the Santosh Trophy and was called up for the national team camp twice but never played for India.
- Former India all-rounder Kapil Dev and Gaganjeet Bhullar will challenge Shubhankar Sharma and former left-arm spinner Kartik Murali in an exhibition match at the Delhi Golf Club course here on July 11
to raise funds for COVID-19 relief.
- FIFA president Gianni Infantino called for discussions over proposals to introduce
salary and transfer fee caps to football i
n the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
- High-ranking Olympic official Pierre-Olivier Beckers on Saturday made plain that
the delayed Tokyo Olympics “will be held in 2021 or not at all” .
- Golf fans will likely undergo temperature checks and carry social distancing chip technology as
The Memorial got the green light on Friday to become the first PGA event to allow the return of spectators.
- World number one Novak Djokovic described the
strict hygiene restrictions under which the US Open is likely to be played as “extreme” and a cap on support teams as “really impossible” on Friday.
- NBA players have requested further negotiations with league chiefs before signing off on
plans to resume the season in Florida next month, a statement said on Friday.
- Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott, who is 79, has
ended his 14-year long association with BBC’s Test Match Special commentary team citing concerns arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Michael Holding and Ian Bishop said Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer’s decision to not travel to England for the three-Test series due to safety concerns arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic
should be respected .
- The
2020 World Archery Field Championships in Yankton, USA , have been postponed until 2022 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world field event was planned as the primary qualifier for the upcoming World Games in Birmingham.
- Kevin Durant , who is among a dozen NBA players who tested positive for coronavirus, has pulled out of the remainder of the NBA when it resumes in July.
June 5
- Thousands of fans poured into stadiums in Vietnam on Friday as the country resumed top-flight soccer without social distancing measures or curbs on crowd sizes, owing to its success in combating the spread of the novel coronavirus.
- Bundesliga coaches have called for some easing of the league's strict hygiene regulations , citing the general improvement of the coronavirus situation in the country.
- Borussia Dortmund players
Jadon Sancho and Manuel Akanji were fined by the German soccer league on Friday for defying coronavirus control measures to get haircuts.
- The Cricket Association of Bengal
(CAB) on Friday decided to call off the 2019-20 season due to the COIVD-19 outbreak.
- Rashid Khan, India’s highest ranked golfer, on Friday said
he is planning to write to Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju asking for his help after missing out on crucial practice due to the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) denying him entry even after re-opening post the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
- This season's postponed
French Cup final could still go ahead with a limited number of spectators allowed into the stadium , the president of the French Football Federation (FFP) said on Friday.
- Volleyball players have begun training in several districts of Tamil Nadu , and the State association (TNSVA) is keen to get the government’s permission for players to practise at the Sivanthi Thidal inside the Nehru Stadium campus and the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
- Cricket Australia on Friday decided not to replace retired umpires Simon Fry and John Ward in its 12-member national panel for the upcoming season as part of its cost-cutting measures to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Surrey has praised the “passion and loyalty” of British cricket fans after revealing 85 percent of seat-holders for what should have been this week's first Test between England and the West Indies at its Kia Oval headquarters have decided to roll over their tickets to next year's England-India Test at the south London ground.
- Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara said cricket is a social game and it will be interesting to see
how players cope with the new ICC guidelines when cricket resumes after the COVID-19 hiatus.
- The Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) will seek government clearance before setting up a training camp for its players to prepare for the tour of England in July amid the rising threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Former NBA star Yao Ming warned more challenges lie ahead after the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) said
it will resume the season on June 20 following a five-month shutdown because of the coronavirus.
- Well-being of their families was the sole concern behind Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul's
refusal to tour England amid the COVID-19 pandemic , Cricket West Indies chief executive Johnny Grave has revealed.
- Borussia Dortmund
has defended a group of players who were accused of breaking Bundesliga hygiene rules while getting haircuts.
- Jean-Michel Aulas, the president of French club Lyon,
asked a court to reverse a decision to cancel the rest of the French league season, saying it was absurd to halt the competition so early.
- Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram
cannot visualise a T20 World Cup happening behind closed doors and believes the ICC should wait for a “suitable time” to host the big-ticket event after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
- World number one Ashleigh Barty voiced caution on Friday about resuming tennis too soon , saying she needed more information before committing to the U.S. Open in August.
June 4
- Top shuttlers Ashwini Ponnappa and Lakshya Sen are among 20-odd Indian players who have started training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bengaluru as the sport took its first step towards resumption after the COVID-19 hiatus.
- Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas will return to the track next week , spending two days at Silverstone testing protocols ahead of the start of the coronavirus-hit Formula One season.
- Tottenham Hotspur has borrowed 175 million pounds ($220.40 million) from the Bank of England to ease the financial burden due to the loss of revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
- The Le Mans 24-hour motorcycling endurance race, scheduled for August 29-30,
will take place in front of empty stands, organisers announced Thursday.
- The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Thursday
decided to pay two-month stipend to the country’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup probables to meet their dietary requirements as training remained suspended in view of the COVID-19 pandemic pandemic.
- As widely expected, the
inaugural $90,000 Hyderabad Open, announced as part of the Badminton World Federation calendar for 2020, stands cancelled.
- World sport is slowly trying to spring back to life, following the Bundesliga football league in Germany. Even though it was the first major sports event to get back on field amid the COVID-19 pandemic,
Bundesliga may not be able to provide a blueprint for the rest of the world because of the different situation and rules in different parts.
- Managers will be able to make up to five substitutions for the remainder of the 2019/20 Premier League season after clubs agreed to the temporary rule change at a meeting on Thursday.
- Australia’s world-cup winning captain Meg Lanning
is hopeful that the women’s ODI World Cup will go ahead as planned next year and remains confident that the team's preparation for the big-ticket event will not be affected due to the coronavirus-forced break.
- The Swiss soccer league will restart several days earlier than planned to help Europa League contender Basel cope with a backlog of matches in August. The restart amid the coronavirus pandemic was set for June 19-21 in the top two divisions.
- On June 15, New Zealand would have officially ‘eliminated’ coronavirus and lifted restrictions in an attempt to return to normalcy.
It would also finally see a return to action for Suzie Bates , who would step into the indoor nets back home in Dunedin after almost two months of strict lockdown throughout the country.
- Competitive cricket is set to return to Australia as a T20 tournament in Darwin is set to kickstart the sport which has been suspended worldwide since March due to coronavirus pandemic.
- Tokyo 2020 officials are looking at ways to scale back next year's postponed Olympics, the city's governor said on Thursday, amid reports the opening ceremony could be streamlined and spectator numbers cut.
- The Bangladesh Cricket Board has turned down former captain Mushfiqur Rahim and other senior players’ request to train at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, citing health safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- One member of Tottenham Hotspur’s squad has been diagnosed with COVID—19, the Premier League club has confirmed.
- Restarting full training for sports in the country could be a process stretching over two to three months, according to Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra.
- Germany and Portugal are contenders to host the delayed Champions League final which is due to be moved from Istanbul, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
June 3
- Ukrainian football club Karpaty Lviv
has been placed in quarantine after 25 people among the players and staff tested positive for the coronavirus, the country’s Premier League said on Tuesday.
- The NBA
is aiming to complete the 2020 season by mid-October , reports said on Tuesday, as the league edges towards a return from the coronavirus shutdown.
- The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has proposed
moving August's ATP/WTA Cincinnati Masters to New York for a doubleheader with the US Open, the
New York Times reported Tuesday.
- Newcastle United’s doctor warned on Tuesday that Premier League clubs
are preparing for “a lot more injuries” as players return to full training ahead of this month’ restart.
June 2
- India’s leading table tennis players, including Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, have informed the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI)
that they are not ready to join the proposed national camp before August , citing safety concerns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Struggling French football clubs have called for
fans to be allowed into matches in time for the start of next season and urged the country's government to provide financial help after the early end to this campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Former Pakistan first-class cricketer Riaz Sheikh on Tuesday
became the second professional player in the country to die because of suspected conronavirus, according to sources.
- ECB has announced Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl and Lancashire’s Emirates Old Trafford as the two venues for the three-match Test series against West Indies if international cricket resumes behind-closed-doors in July.
- South African batting great
Barry Richards feels it will be tough for the cricketers to motivate themselves when they return after the coronavirus-forced break. But he also warned them against “stepping too fast” to compensate for the lost time.
- After a long absence from the badminton court forced by the coronavirus pandemic,
Ajay Jayaram, Tanvi Lad and a few Karnataka players returned to training here . The shuttlers were pleased to put in work at the KBA Academy, alongside head coach and Olympian Anup Sridhar.
- Moved by the plight of migrant workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, India pacer
Mohammed Shami has started distributing food packets and masks to refugees travelling back to their homes.
- The South African cricketers
are likely to resume training from next week and may feature in an exhibition event later this month, provided they get the nod from their government.
- The head of French tennis said on Monday he would like a full house at the French Open but conceded
only the government can decide if spectators can attend the re-arranged tournament.
- County cricketers in England
have agreed to extend their reduced pay deal until the end of July as the domestic game remains sidelined by coronavirus.
- Two-time Olympic javelin champion Barbora Spotakova
stole the show as athletics returned to business across the Czech Republic on Monday, following a drawn-out break due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Some of the French Ligue 1's club presidents
joined forces on Monday to criticise the decision in April to declare the season over due to the coronavirus pandemic.
June 1
- The Championship is set to return on the weekend of June 20 , the English Football League (EFL)
has announced.
- La Liga has confirmed the season will restart with a Seville derby on June 11 and the campaign will wrap up on July 19.
May 31
The ATP, WTA, Grand Slam nations (USA, Australia, England and France) and top players, led by Novak Djokovic, had raised more than USD six million, which they plan to distribute among 800 players . From India’s perspective, the support could be extended to a maximum of 12 players, men and women combined.
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said he was ill with COVID-19 as Atalanta beat Valencia 4-3 behind closed doors at the Mestalla in the Champions League on March 10, when the Serie A side reached the quarter-finals with an 8-4 aggregate victory.
Sri Lanka cricketers will begin training from Monday in what would be the first step to return to action after the coronavirus shutdown.
The Championship saw 10 individuals test positive for coronavirus after tests on Thursday and Friday.
Afghanistan head coach Lance Klusener is optimistic that his team would bounce back from the hard times that has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Treble Olympic gold medalist Bobby Joe Morrow -- who won 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay gold at the 1956 Melbourne Games, has passed away at the age of 84 .
Ahead of a planned return to action on June 17, the Premier League has revealed no new COVID-19 cases in its latest test results.
- US Tennis Association is considering various scenarios to ensure US Open grand slam tournament runs smoothly.
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
- La Liga is set to resume on June 11, with games scheduled every day until July 19 . The Seville derby is expected to be the first once the season resumes.
- World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe called on children to take up sports to combat “shocks” like the coronavirus as his sport was bracing for a restart at a Czech event next week.
- A meeting of the Medical Committee of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) was held via video conference on Friday to
discuss the impact of COVID-19 and finalise protocols and guidelines prior to the re-opening of the association office and resumption of training of the state teams.
- The
All India Football Federation on Friday decided to delay the start date of the domestic season till further notice in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- UEFA is studying “all the options” for the format of this season's interrupted Champions League , amid reports on Friday that European football's governing body is considering moving the final from its scheduled venue in Istanbul.
The Swiss Football League (SFL) will resume on June 19, its clubs decided Friday, with up to five substitutions permitted per match to reduce the risk of player injury. The season was the first in Europe to be suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the last matches played on February 23. Clubs will play two games a week to complete the remaining third of the season by August 2.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said on Friday that f ans could be allowed to attend top-flight matches in the 2020-21 season on a “phased basis”.
- Professional football
games in Japan will resume in early July without spectators in stadiums after a four-month suspension due to the coronavirus outbreak, the J-League said Friday.
- Eoin Morgan, James Anderson and Jofra Archer are among
55 England players who have been asked to resume training outdoors to prepare to play cricket behind closed doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has added 37 more names to the list after 18 bowlers resumed training last week.
- For 21-year-old
gymnast G. Meghana Reddy, it is back to business after a long lull in training , albeit on a makeshift facility in a basketball hall at the Gaudium Sportopia Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad.
- La Liga president Javier
Tebas wants the 2020-21 season to start on September 12 and has warned clubs face €700 million collective losses due to the disruption this year.
- British Police want at least six Premier League matches and any Liverpool title clincher to be played at neutral venues when the season resumes in a bid to avoid supporters gathering outside stadiums.
- The FA Cup final is set to take place on August 1 after the English Football Association announced provisional dates to finish the competition on Friday.
- Russian authorities said that
a small number of spectators would be allowed at stadiums when the country’s Premier League restarts its suspended season next month.
Two-time major winner Stacy Lewis and former US Women’s Open winner Brittany Lang will tee it up at the Texas Women’s Open next week in Dallas.
Cricket Australia's (CA) chief executive Kevin Roberts on Friday sounded optimistic about India's tour of Australia going ahead as per schedule while maintaining that all home fixtures for the 2020-21 season are subject to change as the COVID-19 pandemic remains a fluid situation.
The Serie A season is set to resume from June 20 , Italy's sports minister has confirmed.
Premier League clubs agreed to restart the 2019-20 season on June 17, provided that all safety requirements are in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
May 28
- There will be
no domestic cricket in England until August 1 at the earliest, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Thursday.
- National Games organizing committee has decided to postpone National Games due to Covid-19 pandemic
. The committee will hold meeting in September end and decide on fixing dates for National Games. Govt will take advise from Union Sports Ministry, need 4 months advance notice to organize games.
- Watford captain Troy Deeney has revealed that
people have told him they want his baby son to contract coronavirus after he chose not to return to training at the Premier League club. Deeney has been absent from training since Watford and other Premier League clubs returned to non-contact sessions last week.
- The
postponed Belgian Cup between Club Brugge and Antwerp will now take place in an empty King Baudouin Stadium on August 1.
- Two Fulham players have tested positive for coronavirus in the latest round of testing. Both of them are now in are now in self-isolation.
- The 2020 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix has been cancelled , it was confirmed on Thursday. With the coronavirus pandemic having caused havoc with the F1 schedule, the season was set to begin at the revived Circuit Zandvoort in May.
Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith's father Ron has died after contracting coronavirus, the Premier League club have confirmed.
Former India captain and Kings XI Punjab head coach Anil Kumble is hopeful of the IPL happening this year and is not averse to the idea of conducting the cash-rich event without spectators due to the COVID-19 threat.
- Watford captain Troy Deeney believes the integrity of the Premier League season is "already gone" and said the coronavirus pandemic has spoiled Liverpool's dominance.
May 27
- The Badminton World Federation (BWF)
announced the updated qualifying regulations for the Olympic and the Paralympic Games to be held in Tokyo next year.
- The International Cricket Council (ICC) is
likely to adopt the wait and watch approach while discussing the fate of the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in Australia in October-November.
- The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has told
La Liga it will permit matches being played on Mondays and Fridays to facilitate the 2019-20 season's conclusion.
- New Zealand Cricket is looking to
shed around 10 to 15 percent of its staff and save NZ$ 6 million in operation costs as it copes with the “challenges” posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Executive David White said on Wednesday.
- Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi said resuming the 2019-20 LaLiga season will feel like
"starting from scratch".
- The coronavirus-delayed women's
football Olympic qualifier between South Korea and China is now slated for February 2021 , nearly a year later than first planned.
- Olympic-bound athletes cloistered at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala and the Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru
finally got the go-ahead to resume training starting Wednesday.
- Olympic chief Thomas Bach on Wednesday held a series of talks with
International Olympic Committee members on the potential consequences of the coronavirus pandemic that has seen the Tokyo Games pushed back a year to 2021, sources said.
- A new J
apanese smartphone app will allow fans to send virtual cheers and jeers to sports stadiums in the hope of creating atmosphere at matches played behind closed doors due to coronavirus.
Instrument maker
Yamaha said its remote cheering system will let users tap buttons on the app to deliver cheers - or boos - via dozens of speakers placed inside grounds.
The Greek government on Wednesday gave the go ahead for the Super League to resume after a near three-month lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Athens News Agency reported. Matches will begin the weekend of June 6-7. Clubs are already back training under strict health protocols and it is expected matches will be held without spectators.
NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball players union leaders say it's likely the leagues they deal with will return in some fashion this year after being shut down for the coronavirus pandemic.
- Serie A hopes of following Germany and Spain back onto the pitch will be decided on Thursday
during a meeting with the Italian government which will determine the fate of the season in Italy.
- An illegal football match played in France's eastern city of Strasbourg
sparked fears on Tuesday the game could lead to a resurgence of coronavirus in one of the worst-affected areas in the country.
- Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was “pretty gutted” on learning about the cancellation of her favourite tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic.
May 26
- While her peers are confined to their homes due to coronavirus-forced lockdown, midfielder
Indumathi Kathiresan is busy in police uniforms on the streets of Chennai, asking people to follow government guidelines to fight the pandemic.
- Sports activities finally resumed in the national capital with the Sports Authority of India opening up the stadia under its charge on Tuesday in adherence to social distancing and hygiene guidelines issued by the Sports and the Home Ministries earlier this month.
- For nearly three months football enthusiasts in Wuhan were left kicking their heels indoors as the coronavirus raged in the Chinese city at the epicentre of the outbreak. But since the harsh lockdown on the city of 11 million people ended in early April amateur
footballers have been gleefully ripping off their face masks and lacing up their boots again.
- Espanyol is the latest La Liga club to offer a financial boost to supporters in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Leganes has
renewed 2019-20 season tickets for the entirety of the next campaign for free due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Luke Donald believes a Ryder Cup held without spectators could give
Europe the edge over the United States.
- Starved of live sporting action for weeks owing to the COVID-19 pandemic,
fans will have high expectations when sport resumes behind closed doors, feels West Indies head coach Phil Simmons.
- Lyon will challenge the decision to end the Ligue 1 season early because of the coronavirus pandemic before the Council of State, France’s highest administrative court, a club source said.
Former India skipper Rahul Dravid reckons the concept of resumption of sports in a bio-secure environment, as being discussed by multiple cricket governing bodies presently, amid the coronavirus crisis is "a bit unrealistic" in the long run.
The coronavirus crisis could “potentially threaten” the existence of the German Football Association (DFB), its treasurer Stephan Osnabruegge warned on Monday.
Premier League clubs will vote on proposals for a return to contact training on Wednesday as the English top-flight seeks to take another step closer to resuming the season next month.
Australian paceman Mitchell Starc warned Tuesday that cricket risks becoming “pretty boring” if ball-tampering rules are not relaxed in response to a coronavirus-linked ban on using saliva to shine the ball.
May 25
- The 2019/20 season in the top two tiers of
English women's football was called to an end on Monday by the Football Association (FA), but no decision has yet been made on how final standings will be decided.
- Pakistan head coach and chief selector, Misbah-ul-Haq, has said that pacers will find it extremely difficult to adopt to ICC’s new guidelines for resumption of cricket and
proposed a mask for the bowlers to ensure they don’t end up applying saliva on the ball “instinctively”.
- There will be no audience and no handshakes with rivals, but Czech players including two-time Wimbledon champion P
etra Kvitova relishes the prospect of playing a tournament again.
- The month leading up to the Indian Premier League is usually a busy one at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. Besides regular training, the fast bowlers also fine-tune their T20 line-and-length skills.
But on March 20, the iconic academy shut shop due to the coronavirus outbreak . But it will now hold a meeting in June to decide the plan of action.
- Premier League clubs will vote on proposals for a return to contact training on Wednesday as the English top-flight seeks to take another step closer to resuming the season next month.
- Basketball's EuroLeague season has been abandoned and there will be no 2019-20 champions, it was announced on Monday.
- Despite assurances from the administration and Sports Authority of India on Saturday,
no training was possible on Monday for anyone . The athletes too remain in dark about any resumption.
- Gary Neville is optimistic the Premier League will vote to restart the season in the near future, but he expects more players to drop out.
- The eighth edition of the prestigious
Indian Open will not be held this year in view of the COVID-19 crisis , according to Capt. P.V.K. Mohan, chairman of the Billiards & Snooker Federation of India
New York governor Andrew Cuomo has said all professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps in the state starting Sunday .
Italy's minister for sport Vincenzo Spadafora said the Serie A season could resume on "June 13 or 20" .
La Liga president Javier Tebas is hoping to resume the 2019-20 season on Thursday, June 11 with the Seville derby .
Professional sport in Britain moved closer to a resumption when the government published 'stage two' of its guidance allowing for close-contact and competitive training.
May 24
- Christian
Kabasele joked Watford are "injecting" COVID-19 into players and staff members in a sarcastic response to the club being accused of trying to avoid relegation.
- Former India pacer Zaheer Khan felt the ban on the usage of saliva by bowlers, recommended by the ICC Cricket Committee,
will massively tilt the scales in favour of batsmen.
- Hull City has confirmed
two positive tests for coronavirus at the Championship club.
- The English Football League
(EFL) has revealed two positive results following coronavirus tests carried out across all 24 Championship clubs.
Bournemouth has confirmed that one player from the club has tested positive for coronavirus. The Premier League announced on Saturday there were two positive results from different clubs during the second round of COVID-19 testing that included 996 players and staff.
- Former Pakistan opener
Taufeeq Umar has tested positive for COVID-19 but said his “symptoms are not at all severe“.
- Former Australia captain
Mark Taylor does not foresee the T20 World Cup scheduled for October-November going ahead and wants the ICC to take a decision during its Board meeting this week.
- The Premier League's latest round of coronavirus testing has
returned two positives from different clubs.
- Shakib Al Hasan feels the ICC guidelines on ways to resume cricket
leave a lot of unanswered questions and there are issues which require discussion before the sport returns from the coronavirus-forced hiatus.
- Awaiting an SOP for the resumption of para sports in India. Asian Par Games gold medallist
Ekta Bhyan shares her concerns about returning to training amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Disney's Wide World of Sports complex could host all remaining NBA games this season, with the league in talks with the Walt Disney Company. The campus that spans 255 acres features enough space to accommodate practices and lodging.
May 23
The French Football League has announced that the next Ligue 1 season is most likely to begin on August 23 , a day after the Ligue 2 campaign starts.
Thomas Dennerby, coach of the Indian U-17 Women’s team, feels the postponement of the FIFA U-17 World Cup to February-March next year offers his squad a chance to make up for lost time.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said India will not host any international events in the immediate future and fans will have to accept the new normal of sporting activities happening behind closed doors over the coming months.
The La Liga season can resume in the week commencing June 8 , Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced.
Hockey India stipulates the guidelines players and staff have to follow for travel home and return for training.
- With F1 denied any exemption from the 14-day quarantine procedures, the
British GP is under threat .
Formula One teams on Friday agreed to cap spending at $145 million next season as the sport attempts to counter the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Bianca Andreescu and Sofia Kenin will headline a 16-player field for an invitational women’s tennis tournament in Charleston , South Carolina, in June. The tournament starts June 23 and is so far the largest scale tennis event to be confirmed since the ATP and WTA tours were shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic.
NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing has been hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19.
May 22
The BWF unveiled a revised international calendar which was criticised by several Indian shuttlers including Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and Sai Praneeth.
The progress of India's FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup side and i ts schedule post lockdown was discussed during the AIFF Women's Committee meeting .
The International Cricket Committee’s Nominations Committee is set to formalise the election procedure for the post of chairman at a meeting on May 26.
The International Cricket Council has recommended a phased approach to resuming cricketing activities in compliance with the government regulations.
Indian boxers are unlikely to resume camp training anytime soon as the AIBA grapples with a “few logistical concerns” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Ian Chappell feels the top Australian cricketers are obliged to give priority to the country’s domestic competitions over the cash-rich IPL as their financial needs are well taken care of by Cricket Australia.
Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra and secretary general Rajeev Mehta have exchanged emails regarding the division of workload .
The T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia between October 18 and November 15, is likely to be postponed, and an official decision on this matter is expected after the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s board meeting on May 28.
Most Indian athletes are wary of returning to outdoor training , with MHA allowing sports stadia across the country to open without spectators.
"We've got 11,000 athletes coming, 5,000 technical officials and coaches, 20,000 media, we've got 4,000 working on the organising committee there at the moment, there will be 60,000 volunteers coming,” said John Coates, the International Olympic Committee's pointman for Tokyo 2020, while discussing the challenges facing the Games in 2021 , especially with no vaccine available yet.
The revamped calendar of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has scheduled the USD 400,000 India Open badminton here from December 8 to 13. India will also host the Syed Modi India International and the Hyderabad Open.
Players are being given the option of carrying their own golf bags for the remainder of the 2020 season as part of the LPGA Tour's new safety guidelines.
Australia still hopes to host India later this year and be able to visit England , keeping financial strains posed by the coronavirus pandemic in mind.
No sparring, no entry for those aged 60 or above - Boxing Federation of India has put out a strict Standard Operating Procedure as athletes hope to resume training under the new MHA guidelines.
May 21
The English Football League (EFL) reiterated that promotion and relegation should be kept in place even if the season is ended prematurely by the coronavirus crisis.
Eight footballers from top-flight Mexican team Santos Laguna have tested positive for the novel coronavirus , jeopardising attempts to restart the national league after two months of suspension.
The impact of coronavirus, no Champions League football and major signings resulted in Manchester United's net debt rising to £429.1million .
USA's National Hockey League and its players union are discussing plans for an expanded 24-team playoffs to return from its coronavirus shutdown, according to multiple reports.
NBA teams expect the league office to issue guidelines around June 1 allowing teams to begin recalling far-flung players in anticipation of resuming the coronavirus-disrupted season
The Indian cricket team could travel to South Africa for a three-match T20I series in August, Cricket South Africa (CSA)'s acting chief executive Jacques Faul told an online press interaction .
The Sports Authority of India on Thursday listed out its Standard Operating Procedure for the safety of athletes as they start training in SAI centres and other training facilities across India.
- Olympics chief Thomas Bach said
2021 was the “last option” for holding the delayed Tokyo Games on Thursday, stressing that postponement cannot go on forever.
- The Cricketers' Foundation
has extended financial support to twenty retired umpires who served Mumbai cricket .The trust that supports retired umpires, coaches and groundsmen raised funds worth Rs. 4 lakhs to help the retired umpires during the COVID-19 pandemic, that has affected livelihood.
- The German women's championship will resume behind closed doors on May 29 , the country's football federation (DFB) announced on Wednesday, after a suspension of almost three months due to the coronavirus.
- Athletes led the way in providing the
Indian Olympic Association with their feedback on how to restart national camps amid the COVID-19 pandemic
- Manchester United captain
Harry Maguire said he felt "so safe" as the Premier League giant returned to training amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Plans for investing heavily in women’s cricket “will be protected” despite the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a top official at the England and Wales Cricket Board.
- Australian pace spearhead
Pat Cummins believes IPL will be a great way to resume cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus and the high-octane tournament will also help in preparing for the T20 World Cup this year
- English Premiership rugby clubs are set to be sidelined from training for at least two more weeks.
- Watford defender Adrian Mariappa has revealed he tested positive for coronavirus.
Premier League clubs could receive approval to resume contact training as early as this week before restarting the season in mid-June.
- NBA teams expect the league office to issue guidelines around June 1 allowing teams to begin recalling far-flung players in anticipation of resuming the coronavirus-disrupted season.
- The Jack Nicklaus-hosted PGA Memorial tournament and the LPGA's scheduled return event from a coronavirus shutdown are reportedly pushing Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to allow spectators to attend the events.
May 20
- The Karnataka government has allowed sports activities barring swimming, kabaddi and boxing to resume in the state without spectators.
- International hockey will be played only after a vaccine is developed to cure the deadly coronavirus, the FIH has announced , as the world governing body revealed a five-stage process devised for resumption of the game at different levels.
- BCCI apex council member Anshuman Gaekwad said the
T20 World Cup may not be held this year .
- Serie A clubs will find out on May 28 if the 2019-20 season is to get back underway after the government finally approved the resumption of group training.
- German FA president Fritz Keller and Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
want to propose a salary cap to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
- The green signal given to athletes to train in stadiums and sports complexes was a relief for sprinter Dutee Chand.
- The ‘big three’ of the tennis world won’t lose much due to the suspension of professional tours since they have already created their own legacies but the real struggle is for lower-ranked players, including the Indians, says legendary Vijay Amritraj.
- England bowlers’ much-anticipated
resumption of training amid the COVID-19 pandemic has been delayed after the first session was postponed due to “complications” in ensuring safety protocols.
- The Chinese Super League
(CSL) will be stripped of exuberant goal celebrations - and fans - as it attempts to start during the coronavirus pandemic, reports said on Wednesday.
- Hockey India on Wednesday declined to
shift the men’s and women’s hockey teams from the Bengaluru centre of the Sports Authority of India despite the death of a cook who contracted coronavirus.
- The
MLS All-Star Game, scheduled for July, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Cricket Australia will seek the ICC’s permission to use disinfectants on match balls to understand if it can help reduce the health risk to players as the game gears up for a new normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Cristiano Ronaldo looked happy to be back in training with Juventus ,
glad to "get through the difficulties"
. - Jurgen Klopp loved seeing the return of the Bundesliga
and insists matches behind closed doors can still provide ample nourishment for those craving a football fix.
- Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) president
Damiano Tommasi wants players to have at least four weeks of training before resuming the Serie A season.
- A player is among three people to test positive for
coronavirus at Premier League club Watford.
- Silverstone is planning to host two races behind closed doors this summer, subject to government approva l, to make up for some of the lost time in the 2020 F1 season with 10 races already either cancelled or postponed.
- Three people, including a player, have
tested positive for coronavirus at Watford and will now self-isolate for seven days.
- Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan has tested positive for COVID-19 , the Premier League club has confirmed.
May 19
- Six positive cases for coronavirus have been detected at three Premier League clubs after players and staff were tested ahead of a return to training. The COVID-19 testing was carried out on Sunday and Monday.
- No handshakes or hugging, no spitting and no visits to salons for Indian athletes during lockdown, according to the
strict guidelines issued by Athletics Federation of India to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth
feels the training sessions may not be the same for the first few months given the safety guidelines in the wake of COVID-19.
- Manchester City’s appeal against a two-year ban from European soccer
will be heard over three days in June , the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Tuesday.
- British Grand Prix
would be “impossible” this year if elite sport is not exempt from 14-day quarantine restrictions when entering the United Kingdom, Formula One said.
- Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA)
insisted on Yo-yo tests for all cricketers returning to training at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
- Cristiano Ronaldo
returned to training with Juventus in Turin on Tuesday after an absence of over two months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Manchester United
has warned fans to stay away from matches played behind closed doors at Old Trafford if the Premier League restarts amid the coronavirus crisis.
- The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has said it is working on additional measures,
including a new relief fund, to support lower-ranked professionals who have been left in the lurch due to coronavirus-led lockdowns.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov has
confirmed his father is in a critical condition as he battles coronavirus . He explained his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov underwent heart surgery last year and has had another procedure after contracting COVID-19.
- West Indies captain Jason Holder has said
he won’t force his players into travelling to England for a three-Test series amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has asked all international federations to
finalise dates of the Tokyo Games qualifiers and help draft contingency plans in advance for all eventualities, including potential cancellations, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Qualifying for this year's U.S. Open at Winged Foot has been cancelled , the United States Golf Association (USGA) has announced.
- The Premier League has been told by government experts that
coronavirus restrictions could endure for at least a year across English football , with players allowed to resume only non-contact training from Tuesday.
- Serie A will remain suspended until at least June 14 , the Italian Football Federation
(FIGC) has confirmed.
- Lancashire, a Manchester-based county, has returned record financial results and
put itself in the frame to host Tests during the English summer.
- La Liga's proposed restart next month has left
fans juggling the excitement of football's return and the disappointment it will resume without them.
- Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf says NASCAR can hold its races at Pocono Raceway in late June if the coronavirus situation improves in the area, though the races might have to start off without fans.
May 18
- Celtic
was crowned champion for a record-equalling ninth consecutive season as the Scottish Premiership campaign was declared over on Monday.
- Premier League clubs
have unanimously voted to return to training in small groups on Tuesday – marking a significant step in the efforts of England's top flight to return to action amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Table Tennis Federation of India on Monday
sought written consent from its top 16 players to join a training camp after the government allowed sports complexes to open.
- Singapore F1 organisers on Monday said
it was “not feasible” to hold the race behind closed doors , threatening further problems for the coronavirus-ravaged season.
- The fifth edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League, which was scheduled to start from June 10,
has been postponed .
- Britain's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is hopeful the
Premier League can resume by mid-June despite concerns raised by players and coaches over the need for an extended period of training before matches restart.
- India’s chief national badminton coach P. Gopichand on Monday said
he is still awaiting clear-cut instructions with regard to resumption of regular training for shuttlers at the two badminton academies run by him – one his own private academy and the other run under the banner of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at Gachibowli in Hyderabad.
- Senior India pacer Ishant Sharma says
fast bowlers will have to get used to the “new normal” if the ICC decides to ban the use of saliva to shine the ball owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Bayern Munich maintained its four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga as Germany gave fans across the world their first taste of elite football for two months
amid empty stands and stringent hygiene guidelines designed to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
- The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), taking note of the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday regarding the reopening of sports stadiums and complexes amid the coronavirus pandemic in non-containment areas,
has adopted a 'wait and watch' policy.
- La Liga president
Javier Tebas congratulated the Bundesliga on its return to action and for providing an example for others to follow.
- United States president Donald Trump wants to see "big crowds" at the rescheduled Masters.
May 17
- The BCCI will co-ordinate with its state units to ensure that the players get to start skill-based training at local level after the government announced new regulations for the fourth phase of coronavirus-forced lockdown.
- Hertha Berlin defender Dedryck Boyata apologised on Sunday for his up-close encounter with Marko Grujic but denied kissing his team-mate after a senior German politician criticised players for breaching the league's strict hygiene protocol.
- La Liga has told clubs they will be able to increase training to involve groups of up to 10 players from Monday as teams take another step towards the planned resumption of the season in June.
- Newcastle manager Steve Bruce believes going to the supermarket or petrol station could pose a greater a risk of coronavirus than a return to football.
- The Korean LPGA Championship returned to action in Seoul, after the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly halted all sporting activities in March.
- The Indian Olympic Association
requested the Sports Ministry to sanction one-time financial assistance for itself, the National Sports Federations and the State Olympic Associations to tide over the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Competitive cricket is set to resume in Australia for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic struck the globe when the Darwin and District Cricket Competition season begins with a T20 tournament from June 6.
- Former Australia captain Mark Taylor feels the likely
postponement of the T20 World Cup could pave way for the IPL season which has currently been deferred indefinitely.
- The German Football League (DFL) has confirmed
players will not be sanctioned if they do not socially distance when celebrating goals . Questions over the issue arose after Dedryck Boyata appeared to plant a kiss on the cheek of Hertha Berlin team-mate Marko Grujic during the 3-0 win at Hoffenheim as the Bundesliga returned to action.
- Veteran Peruvian striker
Jefferson Farfan has become the first player in Russia to test positive for coronavirus , his Lokomotiv Moscow
club said on Saturday, just five weeks before the Premier League season restarts.
- All Spanish league clubs can begin group training sessions this week despite stricter lockdown restrictions remaining in place in parts of Spain because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Serie A teams will be allowed to resume group training from Monday , Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte has announced.
- Maintaining the international venue has been a challenge for the authorities at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. They have arranged passes for three groundsmen to clean, water and mow the ground.
- Two Parma players have begun periods of isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, the club confirmed on Saturday.
May 16
Tata Open Maharashtra tournament director Prashant Sutar on Saturday hinted that the ATP Tour event could be moved to a different date .
IOC chief Thomas Bach said that currently there is no reliable answer how the coronavirus situation will be on the eve of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Germany's top-flight football resumed on with Borussia Dortmund thrashing derby rival Schalke 4-0 , while RB Leipzig was held to a 1-1 draw by SC Freiburg .
As the world continues to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, all eyes will be on Bundesliga as it is set to resume behind closed doors. Here's everything you need to know .
World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe hopes to see more one-day track and field meetings in the United States , giving American athletes a chance to earn a living at home and US fans a chance to connect with the sport.
Pakistan’s tour of England, scheduled for July 2020, is likely to go ahead after talks held over biosecurity arrangements. From chartered flights to quarantine protocol, here are the details .
Mushfiqur Rahim's bat, with which he scored a double ton against Sri Lanka in 2013, has a new owner - Shahid Afridi. The legendary cricketer bought the bat for USD 20,000 to raise funds for the COVID-19 relief work in his country .
Belgium's Pro League has voted to end the season and crown Club Brugge as champion . It is Brugge's third title in the past five seasons and it will directly enter the group stage of next season's Champions League.
- Werder Bremen has confirmed
one of its players has been placed in a two-week quarantine a day before the Bundesliga is set to resume. The club explained the unnamed player has not tested positive but that a member of his "personal circle" has contracted COVID-19.
- "The
financial impact of this break is enormous . We will lose 3-4 million euros per matchday because we will be playing without spectators and sponsors in the stadium. The longer it takes, the more difficult it will be for the club," said
Borussia Dortmund managing director Carsten Cramer.
- Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has sworn to not let the sport "dribble away", even if that means hosting bouts in his own back garden .
May 15
FIFA’s The Best awards ceremony, scheduled to be held in Milan on September 21, has been postponed, world football’s governing body confirmed .
Augsburg coach Heiko Herrlich will have to sit out the Bundesliga resumption this weekend after breaking quarantine rules to go and buy a tube of toothpaste.
South Australian cricket chief Keith Bradshaw has said Adelaide can potentially host India in more than one Test , if the challenges of inter-State travel remain when – and if – the series gets underway.
The United States Tennis Association is pressing ahead with preparations to stage the US Open in New York this year but is “aggressively” drafting alternative plans for the tournament.
Austrian league leader LASK Linz faces possible punishment for violating health regulations by resuming full training, a move which incurred the wrath of their rivals.
South African Rugby has announced significant pay cuts in an efforts to save up to 1.2-billion rand (USD 62 million) from its budget.
Jurie Roux, chief executive of SA Rugby, said the sport’s salary bill for employees, players and officials had been reduced by 25 percent, with those on the highest pay scales losing up to 43 percent of their income.
- Bundesliga clubs will be able to use five substitutes when it returns from a suspension enforced due to the coronavirus pandemic on Saturday, the German Football League (DFL) announced.
Four Sampdoria players who had contracted the coronavirus have recovered from the disease , the Serie A club announced on Thursda
All rugby Test matches scheduled for July have been postponed because of the coronavirus in a fresh blow to the sport. “Extended travel and quarantine restrictions that apply to numerous countries, and concerns over adequate player preparation time, mean that any sort of cross-border international rugby competition cannot be hosted in July,” the governing body said in a statement.
Elimination of low-ventilation change rooms, disinfection of training equipment after every use, a bar on sparring for now, and usage of gyms in shifts - these are some of the measures to tackle the COVID-19 threat that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is proposing if training of athletes resumes later this month.
With a global conversation raging about concerns facing women’s cricket in light of COVID-19-related difficulties, Surrey Women’s bowling coach, Sam Lavery says it would be foolish to neglect the women’s game for the benefit of the men.
May 14
- The 2020 Tour of Britain has been cancelled after organisers
decided it was not practical to stage the race .
- Concerned about the plight of “distraught” farmers in his village during the ongoing lockdown, Indian pugilist and Asian Games gold-medallist Amit Panghal has appealed to the government for help.
- Those who work on the peripheries of the game —
groundsmen and broadcast professionals — are among the most affected with the pandemic bringing the game to a standstill.
- Hockey India has made it mandatory for all players and staff of member associations to
download the government’s Aarogya Setu app in order to be eligible for tournaments.
- CONCACAF has suspended its men's Under-20 Championships scheduled to conclude with group and knockout rounds in Honduras June 20-July 5, the region's governing body said.
- Golfers based outside the United States will face a 14-day quarantine before they can compete on the US PGA Tour when the circuit resumes play next month, tour officials said.
- Greater Manchester’s Police (GMP) chief has
warned legislation could be the only way to stop fans gathering outside stadiums if the Premier League restarts amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- World Cup-winning England pacer Jofra Archer has suggested playing audio of crowd noise to create a 'realistic' atmosphere if cricket resumes behind closed doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver will
study coronavirus outbreak and testing developments for another two to four weeks before the league decides about a return to competition, according to multiple reports.
- Lgoalkeeper Adrian insisted he held
"no fear at all" about resuming the Premier League season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Rory McIlroy is intending to play the
first three tournaments back when the PGA Tour season resumes next month.
- Sports stars based in the United Kingdom have
received the go-ahead for a phased return to organised training , but new government guidance also provides athletes with an opt-out choice.
- Borussia Dortmund fans have been urged not to congregate outside Signal Iduna Park when it resumes its season against rival Schalke on Saturday.
May 13
- Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora insisted on Wednesday that
Serie A football will only resume when “the safety of all” is guaranteed , saying he found the intense debate “excessive”.
- Resume non-contact sports like cricket and badminton behind closed doors, in few locations and with limited manpower,
the FICCI suggested , as the Indian sports sector looks to get the wheels back in motion.
- Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has said
it will take a call on India and Bangladesh’s upcoming tours to the island nation later this week.
- West Indies fast-bowling great
Michael Holding has expressed doubts about the proposed use of artificial substance to shine the ball in the post-COVID-19 world.
- When and how will
Bundesliga return to action ?
- US superstar Serena Williams says
she's ready to play “real tennis” after the enforced rest of coronavirus quarantine.
- Bangladesh’s development coach and former first-class cricketer
Ashiqur Rahman has tested positive for the dreaded novel coronavirus.
- The National Basketball Players Association
(NBA) has informally polled players to gauge their appetite for resuming a season halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Leading professional
golfers will return to competitive action for the first time in months after the coronavirus shutdown when three of the world's top 10 women tee off in South Korea on Thursday.
- Premier League
players do not want to be seen as guinea pigs in the Project Restart plan , Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor has said.
- Portugal's
Primeira Liga will be able to restart the season from its coronavirus-forced suspension on June 4 , the country's football league announced on Tuesday.
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
UK government's COVID-19 roadmap could see elite sport return behind closed doors as early as June 1. This of course includes (and is especially a relief for) the Premier League.
The Frauen Bundesliga, the women's top flight in Germany, is all set to resume on May 29, subject to a health clearance and political approval. Dates for the DFB Pokal for women have also been announced.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it is working closely with the government to ensure safe resumption of the game amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Ian Chappell says
some form of ball-tampering could be allowed in cricket , with saliva and sweat considered health risks due to the coronavirus crisis.
Barcelona football star Gerard Pique said he was “pessimistic” that the Davis Cup Finals, which his company finances, would be held in Madrid this year.
- La Liga president Javier Tebas is hoping the league can get back underway on June 12, promising matches "every day for 35 days".
With Ranji Trophy likely to be affected by COVID-19, former BCCI chief Shivlal Yadav has appealed to Sourav Ganguly to consider revival of zonal format .
10 May
French tennis chief Bernard Guidicelli admitted on Sunday that Roland Garros , already controversially pushed back four months due to the coronavirus pandemic, could be staged behind closed doors.
- Five players from Spain's top two leagues have tested positive for coronavirus. Meanwhile, players in Spain's top-flight and
Segunda division were allowed to carry out individual work at training grounds last week.
Italy's minister for sport Vincenzo Spadafora said the Serie A season will return "one step at a time" following the coronavirus outbreak.
The second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie between Juventus and Lyon will be held on August 7, according to the Ligue 1 club's president, Jean-Michel Aulas.
Dynamo Dresden placed its entire squad into a 14-day quarantine on Saturday , just a week from the restart of the Bundesliga season, after the club reported two more cases of coronavirus.
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
The BCCI is reportedly considering fielding two international teams , following an ide several other boards are considering. Among the different options being considered to make up for “lost time” upon resumption of sport, is playing multiple internationals on the same day.
The coronavirus-delayed Chinese Super League could kick off next month but without some leading foreign stars including Paulinho and Marko Arnautovic, the country’s football president has warned. The CSL became one of the first sporting victims of the pandemic in January when its February 22 start date was indefinitely postponed.
- Four Sampdoria players have tested positive for coronavirus , one of which had previously recovered from
COVID-19.
Eight members of the Greek National table tennis team resumed training at the Stadium of Peace and Friendship here on Thursday. It’s the first time since mid-March, when quarantine was imposed, that the premises have been open for any sport.
Solo Nqweni , a South African first-class cricketer who has been battling multiple health issues, has tested positive for coronavirus .
Barcelona's players will return to individual training on Friday in line with protocols laid out by La Liga .
- Inter Milan has resumed player training after all its players and staff of the San Siro club have tested negative for coronavirus on Friday.
Leganes coach Javier Aguirre said LaLiga would resume on June 20 amid the coronavirus pandemic. La Liga clubs are returning to training as they prepare for the campaign to restart, having been suspended in March.
Formula One could stage a series of races at new venues in an attempt to salvage the coronavirus-hit season. New venues which are reportedly being considered are Portimao in Portugal and Imola in Italy, once the long-time home of the San Marino Grand Prix.
Football teams will be allowed to use five substitutes when play resumes after the coronavirus pandemic, the sport's law-making body announced on Friday. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) said in as statement that it had agreed to a proposal by world governing body FIFA for a temporary change to the rules “to protect player welfare”.
Football returned to South Korea with Jeonbuk beating Suwon 1-0. Just hours before kick-off, news emerged of a fresh breakout of cases in the Seoul district of Itaewon, triggered by a 29-year-old coronavirus carrier visiting a string of bars and nightclubs last weekend.
7 May
Christian Seifert, CEO of the German Football League (DFL), confirmed on Thursday that Bundesliga will resume on Saturday, May 16 . Second-placed Borussia Dortmund hosts arch rival Schalke in the Ruhr derby in the pick of the matches on the first day back.
Coronavirus testing carried out by Flamengo returned 38 positives, the club has announced . A total of 293 people associated with the 2019 Copa Libertadores winner were tested for COVID - 19 and three first-team players were among those found to have the virus.
Fiorentina has confirmed six positive tests for coronavirus . The Serie A club announced that three players and three members of technical staff tested positive following medical checks on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid returned to training on Saturday amid reports Renan Lodi has tested positive for coronavirus. The Brazilian left-back, 22, is asymptomatic, Marca reported, and must test negative before he can resume work at Atleti's facilities.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has unveiled protocols that would allow clubs to reopen team facilities to non-players and told all 32 clubs to have them in place by May 15.
Bulgaria's football league will resume on June 5, the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) decided Thursday, with clubs allowed to start training as early as mid-May .
MotoGP promoters Dorna made a proposal to the Spanish government on Thursday to stage back-to-back races at Jerez in July. The first, on July 19, would be the new season-opener for MotoGP after the first 11 rounds of the coronavirus-truncated championship were either cancelled or postponed.
Cricket Australia is set to begin Australia’s pre-season later this month under a set of new training protocols devised for the safety of players amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Tennis Australia conceded that January's
Australian Open faces cancellation under a worst-case scenario, but said it was looking at a range of options in hope the COVID-19 crisis eases.
Football’s lawmakers are set to announce a “temporary” change to the laws of the sport allowing teams to make up to five substitutions in games when the sport resumes after the coronavirus-induced suspension.
The Sports Authority of India has decided to make all services, excluding food, free at its stadiums for tournaments conducted by the IOA and National Sports Federations, which have already been exempted from paying any rent for the venues.
Formula One owner Liberty Media saw its revenues from the sport collapse by more than $200 million in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, it said Thursday. The pandemic has prevented the season from starting, with 10 races either cancelled or postponed. It will now only get underway on July 5 at the earliest, in Austria.
Anthony Joshua’s promoter said the world champion’s next title defence may not be staged behind closed doors despite the coronavirus crisis.
Italy's minister for sport Vincenzo Spadafora said it is "impossible to give a date" for the return of Serie A amid the coronavirus pandemic.
6 MAY
- According to a draft government agreement,
German Bundesliga is set to resume in May , with the official date set to be announced later on Wednesday
- Boxers fighting in Britain
would be required to wear masks during ring walks and would be banned from using a spit bucket under proposals to allow for a resumption of the sport.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday
gave the Bundesliga the go-ahead to resume from mid-May behind closed doors, on condition that strict hygiene measures are maintained to prevent contagion of the novel coronavirus.
- South Korea's football season is set to
kick off on Friday after a two-month coronavirus delay , while following strict lockdown guidelines
5 May
- Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,
World Archery has placed all of its 13 staff at the Lausanne headquarters on ‘temporary partial unemployment’ scheme through which the Swiss government will pay the bulk of its wages.
- Barcelona has confirmed its players will undergo coronavirus tests on Wednesday as La Liga’s clubs begin restricted training ahead of the proposed resumption of the season next month.
- Brazilian footballers are protesting lawmakers’ attempts to cut their pay , and some say they will play again only after they are reassured by health authorities.
- Midfielder Aaron Ramsey was the first Juventus player to return to individual training at the team's sports centre in Turin on Tuesday as
Cristiano Ronaldo began two weeks' quarantine after returning to Italy.
- Germany’s
health minister has backed the Bundesliga’s plan to resume in 10 days time with final approval on the league’s return due on Wednesday.
- English cricket could lose as much as 380 million pounds if the entire season is wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ECB chief executive Tom Harrison has claimed.
- Rafael
Nadal is sceptical about the prospect of the ATP Tour returning in 2020 and is already thinking ahead to next year's Australian Open.
- England’s World Cup hero Ben
Stokes feels cricket will not lose its competitive spirit if it is played behind closed doors and says he wouldn’t mind international cricket becoming a ‘TV only sport’ till the coronavirus pandemic is under control.
- The French Tennis Federation hopes
professional players can resume individual training if the lockdown ends as planned on Monday .
- Gordon Taylor has revealed
playing less than 45 minutes per half has been proposed ahead of the return of football in England.
- The Sports Ministry on Tuesday told
aspirants for this year’s national sports awards to e-mail their nominations in view of the lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic as it began the process for selecting the multiple honours, including the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
- Conceding that the risk of athletes losing motivation in the ongoing lockdown is real, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Tuesday sought the views of athletes, coaches and other stakeholders on how to restart the national camps.
- Greek deputy sports minister Lefteris Avgenakis has said the
country’s top football division might be able to restart, as players prepared to return to training.
- The South Korean baseball season has
begun behind closed doors as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic
4 May
- The NFL announced on Monday it had scrapped its overseas games in London and Mexico City for the 2020 season due to logistical concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Australian manufacturer Kookaburra will soon be
ready with a wax applicator as an alternative to saliva and sweat to help bowlers shine cricket balls in the post COVID-19 world.
- The German Football League, which hopes to restart the season later this month,
reported that 10 out of 1,724 tests returned a positive result .
- The next swimming world championships, scheduled for summer 2021 in Japan,
have been pushed back until May 2022 following the postponement of the Olympic Games, the sport's governing body said on Monday.
- The Abu Dhabi T10 tournament, which is being endorsed by some of the top cricketers including England’s World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan, will be held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates
from November 19 to 28.
- Professional soccer players in Spain will be tested this week
so they can start training again for the first time in nearly two months . Basic training has been allowed to resume in Spain on Monday after the government eased some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Cologne is planning to move into a "quarantine-like" training camp after the Bundesliga club was hit with three positive coronavirus tests.
3 May
- The Spanish players and coaching staff of city’s traditional rivals –
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal – joined shoulders for once, to return to their native country.
- Serie A clubs can welcome players back to their training grounds from Monday after being given the go-ahead by the Italian government.
- Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said the
Government would allow elite athletes to resume training at the earliest in order to keep them ready for future competitions.
- Cricket Australia has secured a loan of USD 50 million , an upfront payment as part of a larger USD 200 million credit, which it has sought to cover the losses if India fails to tour the country later this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- There is still some time before training resumes at national camps but even when it does, b
oxers will not engage in any sparring till clear guidelines are in place to ensure their safety in a world scarred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The New Zealand Warriors arrived in Australia late on Sunday after the
National Rugby League secured an exemption for the team to enter the country ahead of a planned resumption of the sport
- Australia coach Justin Langer has said the
COVID-19 pandemic is “an amazing opportunity” to fix the problems that have seeped into Australia’s once thriving State and club level set-up.
- Germany's
minister for the interior and sport said he supports a resumption of the country's football season this month despite the coronavirus epidemic.
- MGM Resorts International has proposed to the
NBA to complete the 2019-20 season on courts at the Las Vegas Convention Centre
- Sports minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the ministry is looking to restart national camps for Olympics-bound athletes by the end of 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
- Premier League clubs
reconfirmed their commitment to finish the 2019/20 season subject to coronavirus
restrictions being lifted in Britain deste fears expressed by players.
- Denmark hopes to restart its top-flight football season on May 29 with regular coronavirus tests administered to all those involved, the Danish League said Friday.
- The 2021
Commonwealth Youth Games was postponed on Friday to 2023 because of clash of dates with the Tokyo Olympics.
- Australia
will not allow the use of saliva or sweat to shine the ball once cricket training resumes in the post COVID-19 world, says a framework released by the federal government regarding the staged return of sports amid the pandemic.
- The
NBA has advised teams not to arrange coronavirus tests for players and staff not showing symptoms saying it was inappropriate with only limited public testing available.
- Formula One
managing director Ross Brawn said the
Austrian Grand Prix's remote location makes it a logical choice as the opening race of a season heavily interrupted by the coronavirus
pandemic.
. - All 20 Serie A clubs have
unanimously signalled their desire to complete the 2019-20 season .
- Olympique Lyonnais will seek “dozens of million” euros in damages after it was deprived of a spot in a European competition for the first time in a quarter of a century following the French League's decision to end the Ligue 1 season.
- Four Serie A clubs could resume training on Monday after the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy relaxed its lockdown rules.
- The
2021 World Badminton Championship has been moved from August to the end of the year . The Badminton World Federation and host Spanish Badminton Association confirmed the new dates, November 29 to December 5, on Friday.
- Tennis legend Boris Becker has warned that
tennis is in crisis and has urged governing bodies to come together to find a solution .
.
- Gary Neville has suggested the
Premier League should consider playing games in European "hotspots" without coronavirus concerns, if the plan remains to finish the season.
- The Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix in August
can only take place without spectators , organisers said in a statement.
- The
PGA Tour is changing its qualification guidelines for next season by allowing more golfers to retain their eligibility status even if they had an off season in 2019-20.
- Adel Khamis, one of the ambassadors for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, has
tested positive for the new coronavirus , the tournament's organisers revealed.
- The Portuguese football season can
restart behind closed doors on the last weekend of May , the country's prime minister said on Thursday while announcing plans to relax the coronavirus lockdown.
30 April
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is back on the tennis court after lockdown rules were relaxed in the Czech Republic.
The German government has not yet given the green light for the Bundesliga to resume and a decision is set to be made next Wednesday.
Liverpool's mayor has described plans to resume the Premier League season as a "non-starter" .
- La Liga is planning to start testing players for the coronavirus
next week as president Javier Tebas
bids to restart the season, a league source stated on Thursday.
- The football season in France has been declared over following a league vote on Thursday, with
Paris Saint-Germain being named as champion.
- Serie A “will comply” with the
Italian government's decision should it choose to end the current season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league's president said on Thursday.
- Leg-spinner
Amit Mishra, who is donating food and other essentials to people , lauded the efforts of his childhood friend, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir.
- Jon Rahm has echoed the views of Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka by stating the Ryder Cup should not go ahead this year if fans cannot be present.
- The
Lausanne Diamond League meeting will not take place on August 20 because of restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic but organisers said Thursday they were looking at “other options“.
- The French league (LFP) has declared Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as 2019-20 Ligue 1 champion despite an early end to the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
England football skipper Harry Kane saluted war veteran Captain T om Moore as the fundraising hero celebrated his 100th birthday .
World number one Novak Djokovic hopes the ATP Tour resumes soon , having struggled mentally during the coronavirus pandemic.
The LPGA Tour won’t resume its schedule until the middle of July at the earliest , aiming for a safe restart to a season that has been shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The end of July is the target for the start of the MotoGP season after races in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Elite European clubs will be able to sign players at "fire-sale prices" in the next transfer window due to the financial pressure brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
- The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC)
has warned competitions and sporting events might continue to get cancelled even after it returns due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis
29 April
- Ajax boss Erik ten Hag
wants his players to "feel like professional footballers again" after the
club returned to training on Wednesday.
- Trafford Council has
granted Manchester United permission to install seats for a safe standing section in time for next season.
- German football has taken another
key step towards restarting the Bundesliga next month with the Ministry of Labour the latest body to reportedly approve plans.
- England all-rounder
Moeen Ali called for a year's delay to the start of the new Hundred as officials met on Wednesday to consider the fate of the controversial competition.
Serie A clubs can resume training on May 18 but Italy's sports minister insists this does necessarily not mean the 2019-20 will be completed.
India’s foreign wrestling coaches Andrew Cook and Temo Kazarashvili l eft India with half of their monthly salary for March in their pockets and are wondering if they will be paid their dues along with the remuneration for the current month
- Sweden head coach
Janne Andersson trusts FIFA and UEFA to come up with appropriate plans over how to restart football following the coronavirus
pandemic.
- Thomas Bach said the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games due to coronavirus
will cost the IOC “several hundred million dollars”.
- World number three Dominic Thiem remains
concerned with certain aspects of a proposed donation from top players to those struggling for income.
- The MotoGP races in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland in June and July have been cancelled , the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) and promoter Dorna Sports announced on Wednesday.
- The Thomas and Uber Cup Finals was on Wednesday postponed for the second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) deciding to hold the global showpiece team championships from October 3 to 11 in Aarhus, Denmark.
- Derby County has thanked captain Wayne Rooney for the leading role he played in the club agreeing on a wage deferral with players to help the English Championship club survive the coronavirus crisis.
- Andy Murray insists
tennis must take it slowly as the sport's bosses consider when to return after the coronavirus.
The Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) is "perplexed and surprised" by the government's decision around training.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says footballers will be able to return to individual training with their clubs from next Monday.
FIFA's medical chief Michel D'Hooghe believes there should be no football until the start of next season with concerns over a "second attack" of the coronavirus.
The French league (LFP) said its executive board will meet on Thursday to discuss the effect of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's earlier announcement about cancelling the season.
28 April
- Formula One teams will be required to shutdown their operations for a period of 63 consecutive days,
finishing in May or June.
Germany's sports ministry said in a statement that Bundesliga could resume in May , with health minister Jens Spahn backing the league's return.
- Sports leagues in France, including the Ligue 1,
will not restart before September due to coronavirus restrictions , the Prime Minister said on Tuesday.
- Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham and Brighton have opened their training grounds to players as talk of
Premier League re-start gathers steam.
- Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB's) Director of Cricket Operations
Mike Hesson returned to New Zealand on Tuesday after being stranded in India for over a month amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Azhar Ali announced that he will be auctioning his triple-ton bat and the 2017 Champions Trophy-winning jersey to raise funds in fight against coronavirus.
27 April
Senior India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s deal with English county side Yorkshire Cricket Club was on Monday cancelled by mutual consent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
FIFA has proposed that teams should be allowed to make up to five substitutions per match as a temporary measur e to help cope with potential fixture congestion in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Formula One chief executive Chase Carey is confident racing for the 2020 season can begin in July with the Austrian Grand Prix.
A year after winning the men's doubles title at Roland Garros, German tennis player Kevin Krawietz is helping out during the coronavirus pandemic by stacking shelves in his local supermarket.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday delayed a decision on restarting Serie A football but gave the green light for top athletes to resume training in a week's time .
Saba Karim, the BCCI General Manager, Cricket Operations, says the board is fexible with the 'back-up' plans for 2020-21 domestic season .
The French Grand Prix organisers announced on Monday the cancellation of the race , scheduled for June 28, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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
- The Australian government might
make travel exemptions for the Indian team’s tour Down Under later this year to save the cricket board from losing a staggering 300 million Australian dollars in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
- The
English Premier League are eyeing a resumption of the season on June 8, behind closed doors due to the
coronavirus pandemic, and reaching a climax on July 27.
- This year's delayed London Marathon may now be restricted to elite runners only, race organiser Hugh Brasher has said. The marathon that was due to happen on April 26 but has been postponed until October 4 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
- The DFB-Pokal final, which was scheduled for May 23,
has been postponed indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Footballers in France's top flight will return to their clubs the week starting May 11
to undergo “full medical checkups” to restart Ligue 1 in June.
- The
IOC says an extra $15 million will go to a program helping 1,600 athletes from 185 less well-funded countries prepare for the 2021 Olympics.
Cambuur head coach Henk de Jong called the decision to abandon the 2019-20 season prematurely and deny his side promotion to the Eredivisie "the biggest scandal in the history of Dutch sports".
24 April
- PCB CEO Wasim Khan has made it clear that
they will not accept any change in the Asia Cup schedule in order to accommodate the 13th edition of the IPL which currently remains suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Dutch Football Association has declared that
Eredivisie 2019-20 season will not have a champion and no relegation in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. No team will be promoted from the second division for next campaign in light of an extension of a government ban on public events.
- Italian football chiefs on Thursday announced that the end of the Serie A season
will be pushed back from June 30 to August 2 to finish the season suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- FIFA will
release $150 million (139 million euros) to its member football associations to help handle financial troubles caused by the coronavirus
- The second season of the
Hockey Pro League
would now
continue till June 2021 although when it would actually resume is still uncertain.
- The 2020 European Athletics Championships, which were set to be held in Paris this summer, have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers announced on Thursday.
- English county side Middlesex cricket club has opted to furlough players and most of its staff, including coaches, under the UK government’s job retention scheme amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Romania’s athletes must take tests for COVID-19 before returning to training or competition, the country’s Minister of Youth and Sports Ionut Stroe has said.
23 April
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik has no qualms playing top-flight cricket in empty stadiums as a majority of the players “have grown up” turning out in domestic matches with few watching them.
Ferrari back-tracked on Thursday after team principal Mattia Binotto seemed to warn the team might quit Formula One if a planned spending cap was lowered further because of the coronavirus crisis.
Work on Qatar's World Cup stadiums and mega-projects linked to the tournament have continued apace despite tough social distancing rules to stem the spread of coronavirus among the largely migrant workforce.
New Zealand Cricket CEO David White on Thursday said no decision on the possible postponement of the T20 World Cup owing to the COVID-19 pandemic will be taken before July.
The Bundesliga is on track to resume the 2019-20 season in May but the final decision on the restart date lies with politicians, the German Football League (DFL) announced on Thursday.
UEFA has paid out €70million of benefits in advance to clubs that released players for European Championship qualifiers and the Nations League.
- The Future Tours Programme, disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and which runs until 2023,
will have to be collectively reviewed to reschedule as much of the cricket lost as possible, the International Cricket Council stated via a media release after its Chief Executive Committee meeting on Thursday.
- The Premier League
is
considering screening some behind-closed-doors matches on free-to-air television in Britain when the season restarts, the culture secretary has said.
Sky Sports and
BT hold the U.K. television rights for live Premier League matches in what remains of the 2019-20 season, which is currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The next women’s European Championship in England has been
put back a year to 2022 , UEFA confirmed on Thursday, after initially being postponed as a knock-on effect of the coronavirus crisis.
Leeds United is set to rename a stand at Elland Road in honour of the late Norman Hunter . The Championship club announced the news on Thursday, just under a week after the 76-year-old died after succumbing to coronavirus.
- Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has said that there will be no cricket in the country for the foreseeable future amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Premier League
has set up an ePremier League tournament where Premier League players from different clubs will play a FIFA 20 tournament against each other from April 21 to April 25.
- Italy's sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora warned on Wednesday caution was needed as he promised a decision “in the coming days” on whether Italian football clubs can return to training amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Watford became the latest Premier League club
to agree a wage deferral with players on Wednesday to help ride out the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and NFL superstars Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are planning a charity golf match for May, the US media reported on Wednesday.
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
- Former Tour de France champion
Geraint Thomas hopes the Tour goes ahead this year despite the coronavirus crisis, which has impacted sports globally.
- Bengal captain Abhimanyu
Easwaran has donated Rs 2.5 lakh towards the fight against the coronavirus pandemic .
- Liverpool legend
Sir Kenny Dalglish , a playing great and later a title-winning manager, has tested positive for coronavirus but is asymptomatic.
Wishes for a speedy recovery have poured in from current and former players of the club.
- Senior figures at West Ham - including the first-team squad and David Moyes -
have deferred wages to help the club pay non-playing staff.
- Renault has taken up the option to
furlough the "vast majority" of staff at its Enstone site amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- The
WTA tournament in Montreal, scheduled for August 7-16, is in jeopardy after Quebec Province officials requested that all sporting and cultural events be cancelled through August 31.
- League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan said that the
English season can only be restarted if all footballers are tested for coronavirus. Health care workers and patients must come first but if that's accomplished, Bevan suggests it should be made available to sport too.
- The
International Champions Cup friendly football tournament that has brought European powerhouse clubs to the United States and Asia in recent years, won't be played this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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
- With the
Mexican football league, Liga MX, suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, an eSports tournament is being organised with three players from each of the 18 clubs set to participate.
- Former Pakistan pacer
Shoaib Akhtar has proposed a three-match ODI series between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Australian Cricketers Association (ACA)
has launched an Emergency Assistance Fund of USD 250,000 to provide interim relief to former and current players, who are waiting for government aid amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Dutch football federation (KNVB) said on Tuesday
it was hoping the top two divisions would restart on June 19 following their suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The first four of England's five annual Classic horse races, including the Epsom Derby, have all been postponed due to the coronavirus it was announced Tuesday.
- British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland has proposed a series “decider” between the All Blacks and his composite team when the coronavirus crisis is over.
Celta Vigo became the latest La Liga team to announce an agreement with its players for a salary cut to reduce the economic impact of the pandemic. The club did not give figures but said the cuts would apply to salaries above a certain, unspecified level, and would include coaches, first-team players, directors and some medical staff.
7 April
Chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association, Gordon Taylor, has said the Premier League players have agreed to play their part in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic
The Olympic flame will be removed from display in Japan , officials said on Tuesday, as the country braces for a state of emergency due to the coronavirus that also forced the historic postponement of Tokyo 2020.
With the top clubs in the Bundesliga already back in training , envious rivals across Europe are watching to see whether the Germans gain an edge or pay a price when play resumes.
UFC president Dana White said he is "a day or two away" from securing a private island for international fights amid the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. Olympic great Michael Phelps said it's “hard to comprehend” what today's athletes are going through with the Tokyo Games postponed in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has urged all supporters to stay safe and stay inside during self-distancing. The Reds boss speaks about admiration for the health workers who are showing incredible bravery during this time.
Liverpool has made a U-turn on their decision to furlough a number of non-playing staff impacted by the Premier League's suspension following a backlash, CEO Peter Moore has confirmed.
The mother of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has died after contracting the coronavirus, the English Premier League club said in a statement on social media on Monday. She was 82.
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
- Legendary New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey, who held the record for the longest field goal in NFL history from 1970 until 2013, has died after contracting COVID-19, the team said Sunday. Dempsey, 73, died on Saturday at a care home where he had been battling Alzheimer's and dementia. Several other residents of the facility where Dempsey was staying have contracted the novel coronavirus.
- Record goal-scorer Wayne
Rooney has branded the public pressure put on players to take pay cuts as a disgrace and believes they have been left in a no-win situation.
- West Bromwich Albion's
CEO has given up his full salary with the professional game in the UK suspended due to coronavirus pandemic.
- Manchester City has sad
it won't seek the UK government's furlough scheme to fund its non-playing staff .
- FIFA
has extended the age limit for the men’s soccer tournament at the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The NBA
is contributing one million surgical masks to New York to help fight coronavirus, working with the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and China's consul general Huang Ping.
- Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander said Saturday he plans to donate his pay to COVID-19 relief efforts during baseball's shutdown.
- Major League Baseball is considering the use of spring training sites to start the 2020 regular season, most likely in Arizona, with the players quarantined and no fans in the stands, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported.
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
- The
start of the new WNBA season has been postponed indefinitely , the league officials have confirmed.
- Britain's Olympic champion
Adam Peaty has said the emergency fund released by the International Swimming League to all swimmers in the wake of coronavirus pandemic is 'huge for the sport'.
- British distance runner
Mo Farah has insisted he'll compete at the Tokyo Olympics next year , the Games having been postponed due to coronavirus.
- Indian athlete
Hima Das shared her sentiments with prime minister Narendra Modi during a video call earlier on Friday on the current lockdown in India due to coronavirus.
- UEFA has
warned that it may disallow clubs from participating in next season's Champions League if the current season is not completed.
- The British government on Thursday said English Premier League footballers should take a pay cut, amid outrage at top-flight clubs using a furlough scheme for non-playing staff.
- Lisa Baird, commissioner of the U.S. NWSL, said
they are targeting a return to action in late June and trying to hammer out a new schedule after the season was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Next month's Senior PGA Championship joined the lengthy list of golf events to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday as US officials confirmed cancellation of the May 19-24 tournament.
- The Professional Footballers' Association insist they are aware players must “share the financial burden” during the coronavirus as the row over wage cuts for Premier League stars mounted on Thursday.
- The Greek Super League decided unanimously on Thursday to extend the suspension of the championship until April 24 due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
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
- Coronavirus has forced a
postponement of the 2021 Mediterranean Games , which have now been pushed back by a year, until 2022.
- World football's governing body
FIFA has said it has a 'duty' to aid coronavirus-hit football at many levels of the sport.
- Premier League club
Tottenham Hotspur has cut the wages of non-playing staff by 20 per cent due to financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Indian footballers have
donated funds towards the fight against coronavirus pandemic , with midfielder Pronay Halder also providing food to some underprivileged kids who earn their bread on daily basis.
- The owners of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises
have discussed the possibility of staging games behind closed doors this year, according to Manoj Badale.
- International Gymnastics Federation (FIG)
has stated that it will restart Olympic qualifications “once this global health crisis is behind us” indicating at the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
- Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said Lionel Messi agreed with pay cuts at the La Liga champion, after the captain criticised senior club figures behind the scenes.
30 March
- The
Sports Authority of India (SAI) has handed over the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to the Delhi government for the purpose of quarantine facility
- Pakistan cricketer
Mohammad Hafeez has said he wants to play in the T20 World Cup later this year before retiring from international cricket.
- Pictures have surfaced
appearing to show Aston Villa's Jack Grealish at the scene of an incident in Birmingham on Monday.
- Former NFL wide receiver Orlando McDaniel has died from the coronavirus at age 59.
- Tony Boselli, who is up for induction into the pro football Hall of Fame, was in intensive care in a Florida hospital Sunday after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
29 March
- Former Pakistan squash player Azam Khan, a three-time British Open winner, breathed his last in London after being affected by coronavirus.
- Former Turkish national team and ex-Barcelona goalkeeper Rustu Recber is in hospital after testing positive.
- The National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship scheduled for June has been postponed after the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) decided to frame a new calendar.
- The announcement of
Cricket Australia’s players contract list has been deferred by at least a month due to the rapidly-spreading pandemic.
- England women's team captain
Heather Knight has signed up as a volunteer for National Health Service and will help with transporting medicines and spreading awareness about coronavirus
- India cricketer
Ajinkya Rahane has donated Rs 10 lakh to the Maharashtra chief minister's Relief Fund for the fight against coronavirus pandemic.
- Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto
expects the new Formula One season to conclude in January next year with more than a handful of Grand Prix having been postponed due to coronavirus pandemic.
- 2020 Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee chief Yoshiro Mori said on Saturday that the new dates for the postponed Olympic Games could be decided by the end of next week.
28 March
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
has announced that it will to contribute Rs. 51 crore to Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund.
- World Athletics president Sebastian Coe admitted that settling on a new date for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 will not satisfy everybody.
- West Ham
has eight players in self-isolation after showing mild symptoms of the coronavirus, according to the club’s vice-chairwoman Karren Brady.
- The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) announced that almost all of its staff, including coach Oscar Tabarez,
have been laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic that has frozen sport worldwide.
- In the time of needs, former Bengaluru FC player
Toni Dovale is helping as a pharmacist in the corona-hit country of Spain.
- Chinese football star Wu Lei on Saturday
said his wife has also tested positive for COVID-19 , adding that he is confident the virus won’t affect his career as all his symptoms have completely disappeared.
- The head of UEFA said European football leagues
were still looking at all options and not ruling out finishing this season -- if the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
- Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia
will feature in Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) public awareness campaign on the COVID-19 pandemic, the continental body said.
- Good news from the Utah Jazz camp where
Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and the rest of the team and staff have been cleared after self-isolating.
- Atletico Madrid has become the latest La Liga club to request labour authorities to allow the club to cut player and staff salaries while football is suspended in Spain.
- After being confirmed positive for COVID-19, Juventus player
Paulo Dybala has said he is now feeling "much better".
While large parts of Europe hunkered down, self-isolating, working from home, avoiding the neighbours, fearing the supermarket trip, in Belarus it was handshakes, high fives and hugs all round. Read about it here .
27 March
- Barcelona has confirmed it will make reductions in wages for all of its staff due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Spain has been in a state of alarm since March 14 and remains one of the countries to be worst-hit by the spread of COVID-19, with 4,154 confirmed deaths.
- The ICC Board on Friday
discussed various contingency plans for its flagship tournaments , including the T20 World Cup and the World Test Championship, in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
- The Diamond League
has postponed three more track meets because of the coronavirus outbreak.
- Manchester United
will refund supporters if it has to play its remaining home games of the season behind closed doors or if they are scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Italian rugby chiefs announced on Friday that they were definitely scrapping the 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Organisers on Friday announced the postponement of the women's Evian Championships, put back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The English football season from the seventh-tier down has been brought to an end with results from the campaign voided, the Football Association 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.
- Athletes who had already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Games before they were postponed
will keep their places when the showpiece takes place in 2021 , sources told
AFP on Thursday.
- The England and Wales Cricket Board
is planning to install coronavirus checkpoints and isolation units at grounds in its bid to resume international cricket without any spectator.
- Sachin Tendulkar donated Rs 50 lakh to help combat COVID-19, while
Hima Das pledged a month's salary to the Assam government for the same.
- CONMEBOL
said it would advance participation fees to clubs playing in its two flagship competitions -- CONMEBOL Libertadores or CONMEBOL Sudamericana-- that are suspended.
- The organisers of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England are to give 20,021 tickets to key workers in recognition of their efforts trying to combat the coronavirus.
- The
WNBA draft is going virtual this season ! The league announced its draft will still be held on April 17 as originally scheduled, but without players, fans or media in attendance.
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
- Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes will donate three intensive care units to Portuguese hospitals to help them cope with the coronavirus pandemic, local health officials confirmed.
- Roger Federer
has pledged to donate one million Swiss francs to help the most vulnerable families in his homeland during the coronavirus pandemic.
- BWF said
it might freeze the world rankings for a while as it works on a “fair solution” to the Olympic qualification process after the COVID-19 pandemic forced a postponement of the Tokyo Games.
- Moto GP, like other sports and other businesses,
is scrambling to deal with the problems posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Pep Guardiola and
Lionel Messi have donated one million euros each towards efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in Barcelona.
- RFEF president Luis Rubiales on Wednesday
announced lines of credit for lower-level clubs in difficulty because of the coronavirus pandemic and repeated that he hoped the season could be completed.
- Ahead of the U-17 Women’s World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India in November,
FIFA has confirmed that it is monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
- The third fight in
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder's heavyweight rivalry has been postponed as the coronavirus pandemic grips the United States and Britain.
- After the 2020 Olympics postponement, Indian shuttlers are wondering why the Badminton World Federation (BWF) is yet to freeze the rankings and
sought clarity about the qualification process of the Tokyo Games.
- FIDE has postponed the Chess Olympiad to 2021 . The event was scheduled to be held in August in Moscow this year.
- The next two rounds of the World Rally Championship (WRC), in Portugal (21-24 May) and Italy (4-7 June), have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced.
- The German Football League (DFL) has
extended the suspension of the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga until April 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Japan started the unprecedented task of reorganising the Tokyo Olympics after the historic decision to postpone the world's biggest sporting event due to the coronavirus pandemic that has locked down one third of the planet.
- The organisers of the Paris Games have said that the
postponement of the Tokyo Olympics will have no impact on the Summer Games in 2024 .
- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has instructed clubs to close all team facilities, stepping up league efforts to combat the spread of new coronavirus.
- NASCAR has ordered for a pay cut for its employees. NASCAR President Steve Phelps announced the moves in a memo to employees, which said series executives, including the presidents of NASCAR-owned tracks, will see a 25% reduction in salary, while all other employees will have their salary reduced by 20%.
24 March
The postponed Olympics will retain the name “Tokyo 2020" despite being held next year, the city's governor said Tuesday.
It's official. The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to 2021 as Japan's Prime Minister and the head of the International Olympic Committee agreed to postpone the Games by a year.
UFC president Dana White allays fears over the Khabib Nurmagomedov-Tony Ferguson battle , saying "On April 18, we are having this fight."
Hockey Australia (HA) on Tuesday cancelled all National Championships , including the Masters Indoor Challenge, due to the COVID-19 pandemic but said that the local competitions will take place at some stage later this year.
UEFA has formally announced the postponements of the Champions League and Europa League finals d ue to the coronavirus pandemic. The Champions League final had been due to take place on May 30 in Istanbul, with the decisive Europa League encounter scheduled to be contested in Gdansk three days earlier.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday praised Canadian Olympic officials' decision not to send athletes to the 2020 Tokyo Games due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying “everyone should follow their lead.”
With yet another race, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, postponed, F1 Chief Chase Carey discussed what the season's schedule will look like . Looking at the way things are, Carey hopes the season can see at least 15-18 races in a revised calendar that will run into December.
Australia's last active sport, the A-League soccer, has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Turkish football icon Fatih Terim, currently manager of Istanbul giant Galatasaray, confirmed that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and Germany's social-distancing measures, Wolfsburg has resumed training . Meanwhile, Napoli, Lazio and other Serie A sides have decided to defer return to training for the timebeing in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
Harlequins has asked players, coaches and staff to accept a 25 percent wage cut following a similar move by other English Premiership clubs as the coronavirus pandemic wrecks havoc on the game. “We need to ensure that we take action now to ensure the security of our staff and the financial viability of the club,” Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple said in a statement on Monday.
Welsh Pro14 rugby side Scarlets say it will provide space for 500 beds for the UK's National Health Service at its stadium as authorities grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. The multi-nation Pro14 is currently suspended, as is all rugby union in Wales, and the club has offered the use of its Parc y Scarlets ground.
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
- Juventus'
Paulo Dybala has tested positive for COVID-19 , making him the third Juve player after Blaise Matuidi and Daniele Rugani to contract the virus.
- Milan legend
Paulo Maldini and his son, Daniel have confirmed that they have tested positive for the new coronavirus.
- Mexican football league president
Enrique Bonilla has tested positive for the coronavirus that has forced the competition to shut down.
- Real Madrid's former president
Lorenzo Sanz died on Saturday , with the 76-year-old having been hospitalised after contracting coronavirus.
- Marouane Fellaini has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first player from the Chinese Super League (CSL) to have contracted the virus.
- The English Premier League is tentatively
targeting a resumption on June 1 with a view to completing the season over six weeks before making an August start to the 2020-21 campaign
- Roma midfielder Javier Pastore believes
it'll be 'impossible' tofinish the Serie A season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- While the Premier League announced suspension of the season until May,
Southampton's chief exec believes players should get back onto the field to give people something to be happy about.
- The financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic have begun to show.
Anderlecht
has fired assistant coach Par Zetterberg to save money as the coronavirus (COVID-19) football
lockdown starts to bite.
- Bayern Munich's players have
raised €2million euros to fight coronavirus following donations from Robert Lewandowski, Leon Goretzk and Joshua Kimmich.
- The men's world hockey championships in Switzerland have been called off. This comes after the governing body previously canceled the women’s world hockey championships set to be held in Canada and the men’s Under-18 championship to be played in Michigan next month.
- The Dubai World Cup, one of the world's richest horse races and a marquee annual feature in the UAE, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The chief executive of English football giant
Liverpool
has offered the
club's stewards to local supermarkets as customers clamber for goods amid the coronavirus outbreak.
- In a warm gesture, Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld wants to ensure vulnerable people have the chance to video chat with their families amid the COVID-19 outbreak and has
pledged tablet computers to hospitals.
- In the wake of the pandemic coronavirus outbreak,
Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has insured its cricketers and match officials for the COVID-19 virus. This would cover women players playing for Bengal and ex-cricketers who represented Bengal senior men’s team.
- Ravichandran Ashwin has been vocal about his calls for more social responsibility in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pledging his support to the Janata curfew , the off-spinner hoped the curfew extends beyond Sunday to enforce social distancing.
21 March
- USA Swimming has urged the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee
to back the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games amid the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, keeping athletes in mind.
- The ECB is prioritising saving the England vs West Indies series, T20 Blast and the The Hundred among other key lucrative events amid coronavirus cancellations.
- Formula One champion
Lewis Hamilton says he has been self-isolating for more than a week after meeting people who later tested positive for the new coronavirus.
- Napoli will return to training despite coronavirus warnings. Lazio is also expected to do the same. This comes at a time when Italy is struggling to deal with the impact of the coronavirus.
- UEFA was forced into an embarrassing about-turn after it mistakenly tweeted that
Euro 2020 would keep its original title despite being pushed back to 2021 as a result of the coronavirus. The European body issued a clarification that no official decision has been made.
Chinese football star Wu Lei, who plays for Espanyol in Spain, has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The Badminton Horse Trials, a key equestrian build-up event for the 2020 Olympics, have been cancelled for this year due to the coronavirus. The tournament, scheduled for May, would have been a major showcase for British eventers hoping to challenge for places at the Tokyo Games in July and August this year.
- English rugby chiefs on Friday confirmed the end of the 2019/20 season for all levels beneath the Premiership as the Welsh Rugby Union cancelled its season.
The Thomas and Uber Cups , effectively the world team badminton championships for men and women, were postponed and put back three months.
20 March
- Cricket boards of Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand are
still open to the idea of sending their players to India for the Indian Premier League's 2020 edition, should it happen.
- Snooker’s world championship has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament was scheduled to be played from April 18 to May 4 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
- Nineteen
La Liga footballers will be back in action , but not how you think. They have accepted Spanish video game influencer, Ibai Llanos' challenge to take part in an online tournament to be contested on FIFA 20.
- Motorsport is adopting a similar strategy. Formula One's drivers will battle it out in an
Esports Virtual Grand Prix series in a bid to give fans their racing fix while the season is delayed by the coronavirus.
- The National Rifle Association of India
(NRAI) has postponed its Olympic selection committee meeting due to the coronavirus pandemic. All coaching camps for April have also been suspended.
- The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Friday
suspended five more tournaments , including three continental championships crucial for Tokyo Olympics qualification but stripped of that significance now, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic in the host cities.
- The
latest directive from the Indian government to call off all sporting events and camps until April 15 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic has put the fate of the I-League in doubt. While Mohun Bagan has already won the League, there is still a lot at stake especially for clubs at the bottom of the table.
- While most global sporting leagues or events stand postponed or cancelled,
Belarus kicked off its new football season with fans in the stadium.
- CONMEBOL has asked FIFA to postpone qualifying for the 2022 World Cup until September.
- It would be
"premature" to postpone the Tokyo Olympics , said International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, but admitted the body was “considering different scenarios” as the coronavirus pandemic advances.
- Two players of the LA Lakers and three members of the Philadelphia 76ers organisation tested positive for the new coronavirus on Thursday as the Denver Nuggets also confirmed an employee had contracted the disease.
- New Orleans Saints head coach
Sean Payton has tested positive for the new coronavirus , becoming the first person from the National Football League (NFL) known to have contracted the disease.
- The
Monaco Grand Prix this year has been cancelled as the Formula One calendar continues to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. This is the first time since 1945 the race will not take place.
- The
Invictus Games for wounded servicepeople has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Olympic-style sports event featuring athletes from 20 countries was due to happen in The Hague in the Netherlands from May 9 to 16 but is now likely to be in 2021.
- Real Madrid striker
Luka Jovic is being investigated by Serbian authorities for allegedly flouting a mandatory self-isolation measure after returning home from a coronavirus-infected state, local media reported Thursday.
- Romelu Lukaku has acknowledged he is finding it tough living in self-isolation after Italy was put into lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Swiss top-flight outfit
FC Sion has terminated the contracts of former Arsenal pair Alex Song and Johan Djourou , as well as of seven of their team-mates.
- The 2019-20
Pro14 rugby union final in Cardiff in June has been cancelled.
19 March
Dutch, Spanish and Monaco GPs have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The shutdown of English football was extended until at least April 30 on Thursday after the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) held crisis meetings. UEFA's decision to postpone Euro 2020 to next year allows a window for the games to be completed if COVID-19 restrictions are lifted in time.
World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe admitted that the Tokyo Olympics could be moved to later in the year by the coronavirus outbreak, after more athletes have expressed concerns. However, he added that it was too early to make a definitive decision.
The International Hockey Federation has extended its suspension of all Pro League matches , including fixtures involving India, to May 17, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Formula One will have no mid-season break this season after teams voted to bring it forward to March and April. In other news from motorsports, Le Mans of 24 hours been suspended until September and IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix has been called off .
Borussia Monchengladbach players have offered to forego their salaries to help the club play its staff during the coronavirus crisis.
- FIFA has
set up a working group to look at the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the transfer of players.
- ATP and WTA tournaments have been suspended until June 7 , meaning top-level tennis will not resume until second week of June.
- The
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) backed the IOC’s assertion that the upcoming Tokyo Olympics will weather the COVID-19 pandemic and be held on time without a glitch.
- Regional Olympic officials are rallying around the IOC and have backed its stance on opening the Tokyo Games as scheduled, as direct criticism from gold medalist athletes built amid the coronavirus outbreak.
- Asian golfers
could lose out if the Olympics go ahead, says Tour chief Cho Minn Thant.
- NBA is unsure when the league will resume but commissioner Adam Silver said a
charity game is being considered .
- Flamengo coach Jorge Jesus, who was tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday,
has returned a negative result today .
- Manchester United great Gary Neville has announced the two hotels he owns in partnership with Ryan Giggs
will accommodate NHS staff free of charge during the pandemic.
- South African
golfer Victor Lange has tested positive for COVID-19.
- The England and Wales cricket Board has discussed
“contingency plans” to save the upcoming county season and suspended all recreational cricket, including pre-season friendlies and training.
- Chelsea winger Willian is prepared to play beyond his contract if needed due to the pandemic. He was earlier tested positive for COVID-19.
18 March
- IOC has said
there is no 'ideal' solution for Tokyo Olympics as athletes voice virus concerns.
- Kevin Durant has tested positive for COVID-19 , Brooklyn Nets has confirmed. Nets said
four unnamed players had COVID-19 and one was displaying symptoms.
- Juventus has confirmed French midfielder
Blaise Matuidi has tested positive for coronavirus , making him the second player from the side, after
Daniele Rugani contracted the virus .
- The Asian Football Confederation has decided today to postpone all AFC Champions League and AFC Cup matches until further notice.
- Women's Euro 2021 and next year's Nations League finals will both be rescheduled for a later date after Euro 2020 was postponed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- UEFA has announced a commitment to see all European and domestic club competitions for the 2019-20
season completed by June 30 .
- Wimbledon and
US Open organisers are still planning to play the Grand Slam this year, despite the coronavirus chaos that led the French Open to be pushed back until September.
- The
Laver Cup is planning to go ahead as scheduled in 2020 despite overlapping with the French Open following the latter's "surprise" announcement.
- The
US PGA Championship , scheduled for May 14-17 at Harding Park in San Francisco, has been postponed, the second 2020 major golf championship to be derailed.
- Anthony Joshua's world heavyweight title defence against Kubrat Pulev , which is to be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, could be delayed until July if Spurs needs the ground for a potential extension of the Premier League campaign.
17 March
- The French Open has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will take place from September 20 to October 4.
This summer's Copa America in Argentina and Colombia has been postponed by a year , organisers CONMEBOL said.
- With all football leagues across Europe suspended due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the
Euro 2020 event has been postponed till next year .
- The opening three track and field meetings on the elite IAAF Diamond League circuit have been postponed in response to the growing global crisis around the coronavirus.
PSL-return Alex Hales in self-isolation due to COVID-19 symptoms
- Manchester United has cancelled Tuesday's training session following new advice from the UK government amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- All professional football in Russia has been postponed until April 10 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Cricket Australia is planning to host the men’s T20 World Cup
as per schedule in October despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing a collapse of sports events worldwide.
- Australia's domestic Sheffield Shield
was called off and New South Wales has been declared the champion.
- The Pakistan Super League has been
postponed indefinitely .
- FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged authorities
to use “the power of football” to reinforce important messages in the fight against coronavirus.
- A 21-year-old youth football coach
has died in Malaga after contracting coronavirus.
- NASCAR has
postponed its season until May.
- All national camps, except for those where athletes are preparing for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics,
have been postponed until further order.
- The International Olympic Committee
has ruled out staging the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games behind closed doors.
- The Boxing Federation of India has decided to ask all its officials and employees
to work from home from Wednesday.
- The Ultimate Fighting Championship has postponed its next three events.
16 March
- The Bundesliga has extended its ongoing suspension until April 2 but is prepared to complete the 2019-20 season behind closed doors to ensure clubs can survive a testing economic period.
- The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided to keep its offices closed till March 21.
- The first two competitions of the Indian Grand Prix (IGP) series will be held
without any spectators .
- The leader of the IOC’s coordination commission for the Tokyo Olympics said there is no May deadline to cancel the games and he remains confident the event will go ahead.
- The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) is to request that
Euro 2020 be postponed .
- Liga MX announced its
season will be suspended "until further notice" following Sunday's game between Club America and Cruz Azul.
- BCCI has decided to shut its headquarters in Mumbai for at least the ‘next few days’.
- The Olympic flame handover ceremony for the Tokyo Games
will take place without spectators .
- The Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket boards decided to
postpone the upcoming One-Day International and Test in Karachi indefinitely .
- The Brazilian Football Confederation
(CBF)
announced the suspension of all national football competitions for an indefinite period.
- Australia top-order batsman Chris Lynn, who plays for Lahore Qalandars in the PSL, left for home midway into the tournament .
15 March
- With less than five months to go before the Tokyo Olympics,
IOC president Thomas Bach plans emergency talks with member organisations .
- The visit of a high-powered delegation comprising Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and top IOA officials to Tokyo later this month to look into India’s logistical preparedness for the Olympics has been
put on hold .
- Valencia defender Ezequiel Garay has become
the first La Liga player to confirm he has contracted coronavirus .
- America’s level of success at overcoming coronavirus and how fast that happens are likely the key factors in deciding when and
how the NBA and other sports leagues return .
- The Madras Motor Sports Club postponed the South India Rally scheduled for March 20-22 to June 19-21.
- Fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan, who plays for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL),
left for home following travel restrictions imposed by New Zealand.
- Australia’s top first class league Sheffield Shield could be declared vacant for the first time since the second World War after the cricket board cancelled the final round of the competition.
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
- In the latest measure to try to halt the spread of coronavirus,
all sporting activity in Italy has been suspended until April 3.
- The upcoming AFC World Cup qualifiers, scheduled to take place between March 23-31 and June 1-9,
have been postponed .
- Six Nations update: After England vs Italy was postponed, the fixture between France and Ireland has also met the same fate. However, Wales vs Scotland will take place as scheduled.
- Indian Wells, a combined ATP and WTA event, is
cancelled two days before the main draw matches were due to start.
- The coronavirus threat is now looming over Champions League as the last-16 tie between
Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund will be played behind closed doors .
- The Olympic Flame lighting ceremony for this summer's Tokyo Games will be held without spectators due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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
- The Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament is
pushed from April to September in the wake of the deadly coronavirus.
- The Swiss Football League gets
suspended until 23 March .
- The International Champions Cup, a pre-season friendly tournament, cancels the matches that were due to take place in Asia this summer.
- The Thailand MotoGP, the second race of the season, is cancelled .
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
- Wrestling's Asian Olympic Games qualifying in Kyrgyzstan is cancelled .
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
- The Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai is postponed indefinitely .
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
- The Chinese Football Association said domestic games at all levels would be postponed.
29 January
- The World Athletics Indoor Championships are postponed until next year.
27 January
- The Women's Olympic qualifying tournament is relocated to Serbia.
26 January
- The International Tennis Federation moves the Fed Cup event featuring China, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Uzbekistan from China to Kazakhstan, which again gets moved to Dubai.
22 January
- The International Olympic Committee cancels Olympic boxing qualifiers due to take place in Wuhan and
moves them to Amman.
- The Olympic women's qualifiers are first moved from Wuhan to Nanjing and later to Sydney.
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