Coronavirus: Sweden top flight set for June 14 restart

Football in Sweden is set to be played early in June with the Svenska Cupen, followed by the start of the Allsvenskan, the Swedish top flight.

SvFF chief and UEFA first vice-president Karl-Erik Nilsson mentioned that the Swedish cup has a tighter schedule.

Sweden's top flight, the Allsvenskan, is set to start on June 14, the Swedish Football Association's (SvFF) chairman Karl-Erik Nilsson has said.

While the Swedish football season traditionally finishes in November, the new league campaign had not yet kicked off because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Although Sweden did not implement a lockdown like many other European nations to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, public gatherings were banned, leading to a proposed April start being postponed.

The Svenska Cupen was already in full swing, however, with the competition at the quarter-final stage.

The SvFF confirmed in a statement on Friday their ambition is to complete the cup, with Nilsson adding he hopes it will not overlap with the revised league schedule.

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"The hope is that it [the Svenska Cupen] can be completed," Nilsson, who is also UEFA first vice-president, told Fotbollskanalen. "There are significantly fewer matches left to play and the teams also play for a European place.

"This means we have to start this tournament at the end of May, or early June in order to finish it before the intended Allsvenskan season starts.

"The ambition is for it to be completed before the planned Allsvenskan start, which is scheduled for June 14.

"The plan is to not mix the cup with the league games. They will live two separate lives. That is our hope and ambition. But we need a week or 10 days for us to be ready to finally determine the conditions for the cup."