Bengaluru, May 29: The European football leagues which were brought to an halt in March due to the coronavirus outbreak are set to restart their seasons.
After Bundesliga became the first major European league to resume following the two-month coronavirus shutdown, more and more countries have now followed suit with both Premier League and Serie A also confirming their restart dates.
Premier League is set to restart its season on June 17, while the Serie A is set to return from June 20. Meanhile, La Liga is also set to return next month with June 11 the intended date. However, there is still no official confirmation of a restart date.
Elsewhere, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Austria, Croatia and Ukraine are among the countries which will again be able to enjoy league football, albeit in unusual circumstances with no spectators allowed at games.
They join Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia and the Faroe Islands where play has already restarted.
Here are confirmed restart dates of top tier leagues across Europe:
LEAGUES | COUNTRY | RESTART DATES |
Czech First League | Czech Republic | May 23 |
Danish Superliga | Denmark | May 28 |
Ekstraklasa | Poland | May 29 |
Serbian SuperLiga | Serbia | May 30 |
Austrian Football Bundesliga | Austria | June 2 |
Primeira Liga | Portugal | June 3 |
Slovenian PrvaLiga | Slovenia | June 5 |
Super League | Greece | June 6 |
Hrvatski Telekom Prva Liga | Croatia | June 6 |
Super Lig | Turkey | June 12 |
Eliteserien | Norway | June 16 |
Premier League | England | June 17 |
Serie A | Italy | June 20 |
Russian Premier League | Russia | June 21 |
Veikkausliiga | Finland | July 1 |
Leagues awaiting confirmation with possible dates
LEAGUES | COUNTRY | POSSIBLE DATES |
La Liga | Spain | June 11 |
Liga 1 | Romania | June 13-14 weekend |
Swiss Super League | Switzerland | June 8 |
Apart from restarts, few leagues were forced to be cancelled like France's Ligue 1, Netherlands' Eredivisie, Scotland's Scottish Premiership and Belgium's Pro League to name a few.
The Netherlands became the first European country to bring an early end to the season on April 24 as the Eredivisie was cancelled without a champion being crowned.
France then followed suit on April 30, ending the season with 10 rounds of matches unplayed. The season was not voided, though, with Paris Saint-Germain confirmed as champions, European places dished out and relegation and promotion between the top two divisions maintained on a two-up, two-down basis.
Belgium has also ended its season, with Club Brugge champions, after the Belgian government announced it was suspending all sporting competitions until July 31.
In Scotland the season had already been called early in the three divisions below the top flight and the Premiership followed suit on Monday (May 18), with Celtic being crowned champions for the ninth year running.
League that cancelled, voided or ended season
LEAGUES | COUNTRY |
Ligue 1 | France |
Scottish Premier League | Scotland |
Eredivisie | Netherlands |
Jupilier Pro League | Belgium |