Coronavirus: Bundesliga Set For May Resumption

Football in Germany has been suspended since mid-March due to coronavirus but there is a breath of fresh air following the announcement on Wednesday by the government that action can indeed resume in the top two divisions this month.

The German government gave the green light on a return to action for the Bundesliga season in the second half of May.

Just like other parts in Europe, Germany has had its own share of the COVID-19 pandemic with over 150,000 people in the country so far testing positive and almost 6,300 death recorded.

If all goes according to plan, the German league will be the first of any of Europe’s major leagues to be given clearance to resume playing, since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

While Germany is braving the odds to resume their season, two of their neighbours, the Netherlands and France, have both abruptly ended their seasons.

The German Football League (DFL) will have the final say on the exact date for the league’s resumption.

The majority of Bundesliga clubs have nine matches left to play in this campaign – Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen have 10 – with leaders Bayern Munich four points ahead of Borussia Dortmund in second.

“The eyes of Europe and all of the world will be on us,” Germany and Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer wrote in an op-ed in German broadsheet FAZ on Wednesday. The goalkeeper highlighted the responsibility on German football’s shoulders and said they acted as role-models for society.

In the build-up to the expected resumption, on Monday, the German Football League (DFL) announced a total of 1,724 tests have been conducted on players and staff at the 36 first and second-tier sides in Germany since last Thursday.

Super Eagles’ Jamilu Collins who plays for Paddeborn was one of those tested.

There is a commitment to finish the season by June 30.