German football eyes May return but debate rages

Borussia Moenchegladbach plans to fill their Borussia Park stadium with lifesized cardboard cut outs

BERLIN (AFP) - German football authorities are set to announce plans on Thursday for Bundesliga matches to restart in empty stadiums on May 9, but the potential first return of a major European league in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic is meeting some opposition.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is slowly easing nationwide restrictions and the resumption of the Bundesliga, which was halted on March 13, would boost morale in football-mad Germany.

It would also make the Bundesliga the first top-flight European league to begin playing again.

Large public events are banned in Germany until August 31, yet football could resume without spectators -- known as "ghost games" in a country that has more testing capacity than other in Europe and players could be tested regularly.

The 18 clubs have been back in training for three weeks, albeit in small groups with social distancing observed even on the pitch.

Having already been given signs of encouragement by politicians, the German Football League (DFL) is set to iron out details in Thursday’s video conference meeting of the clubs.

Final approval could be given by Merkel and regional state premiers at a meeting on April 30.

The DFL is desperate for the league season to be completed by June 30 to ensure payment of the next instalment of television money, worth around 300 million euros ($326 million).

The cash could keep some clubs alive, with 13 of the 36 clubs in Germany’s top two tiers reportedly on the verge of insolvency.

With fans across Europe locked out and the world deprived of football, the games could also attract TV audiences far beyond Germany.