Premier League will restart on June 17 after 3-month COVID-19 shutdown
The Premier League has agreed on a date to resume play following the COVID-19 shutdown.
The league officially announced plans to restart on June 17 with two midweek matches before returning to a full schedule on June 20. The news was first reported by the Telegraph.
The two midweek matches will be Sheffield United at Aston Villa and Arsenal at Manchester City, which are both games in hand. That means those four teams have played 28 games, and every other team has played 29, so the playing field will be leveled before the full schedule resumes.
And it’s quite the full schedule. The remaining 92 total games will be played over just six weeks, with most games occurring on the weekends and two rounds of midweek games. The season is reportedly scheduled to be complete by August 1-2, and the FA Cup Final would take place a week later on August 8.
The Telegraph also reported that all remaining games will be broadcast by the league’s TV partners, which the Premier League later confirmed. Viewers in the United States can watch on NBC Sports.
Premier League clubs unanimously voted on Wednesday to resume contact training, a week after resuming non-contact training. Premier League players and staff will still be tested for COVID-19 twice a week, and anyone who tests positive is required to self-isolate for seven days. There have been 12 positive tests across the Premier League, including the four that were announced on Wednesday.
According to the BBC, this plan and schedule were discussed during a meeting of all 20 Premier League clubs on Thursday. Premier League games and practices have been suspended since March 13, meaning that the shutdown will have lasted just over three months once games finally resume on June 17.
Liverpool is 25 points clear atop the table, and should wrap up its first domestic league title in 30 years.
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