PREFACE: We are still an information service even though there is no soccer for a least the next several weeks we are here to provide the latest updates from each league as the world continues to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19).
MLS: Major League Soccer extended the suspension of its season to May 10th. This is in accordance to recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to discourage all mass gatherings of 50 or more people for the next eight weeks. The league remains intent on completing its full schedule even if that means MLS Cup is played once again in December.
NWSL: Clubs are currently under a training moratorium until Sunday., March 22nd.
National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Commissioner Lisa Baird issued the following statement on March 12 regarding the 2020 season:
“After receiving guidance from local and state authorities and medical personnel, and with the support of the Board of Directors, the National Women’s Soccer League is canceling the 2020 preseason match schedule in the wake of the most recent developments surrounding COVID-19. Our priority continues to be the safety and well-being of our players, coaches, staff, and fans. We are reviewing all contingency plans related to our regular season schedule and are monitoring developing events and their potential impact. We are deeply appreciative of our fans and partners for their continued support of our league and all our world-class players.”
No word yet on when or how the regular season will be impacted. It is still scheduled to begin on April 18th.
USL: United Soccer Leagues extended the suspension of USL Championship and USL League One seasons to May 10th on Wednesday. USL League Two is not scheduled to start until May 8th.
US OPEN CUP: The 107th Lamar Hunt Open Cup is currently suspended until further notice. The Cup has never missed a year, though they may end up missing some clubs. The Athletic’s Jeff Rueter reported last Thursday that USL had already informed US Soccer that they intend to pull out in order to prioritize the rescheduling of its season. The first round was supposed to have taken place on Tuesday.
ENGLAND: The FA, Premier League, EFL, and Women’s Super League have suspended play until at least April 30th. This also includes the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish leagues. The leagues and the respective players unions have agreed to extend seasons beyond June 1st in order to complete remaining fixture lists.
BUNDESLIGA: Matchday 27 in both the top flight and Bundesliga 2, scheduled for the end of March have been postponed. The DFL is scheduled to reach a decision in the last week of March on how to proceed with reference to the match schedule. A further Ordinary Assembly is planned, at which it will then be possible to take both further developments in general and UEFA’s decision regarding a possible postponement of the European Championship into account. The DFL does not expect that it will be possible to resume playing matches on the first weekend in April.
LA LIGA: Matchdays 28 and 29 were postponed last Thursday for both the top flight and Segunda Division.
SERIE A: Technically, Serie A is scheduled to resume April 3rd, but that is extremely unlikely. It has been suggested that May 2nd is a more realistic restart date, but all games would have to be completed by June 30th. There are 12-13 matches remaining for each team in Serie A.
COVID-19 LATEST: At the time of this reporting, there have been over 242,000 confirmed cases in 160 countries and regions. Nearly 10,000 people have died while there have been nearly 85,000 recoveries. Italy has sadly surpassed China in terms of fatalities to the disease with 3,405 compared to 3,249 reported in China.
The USA has reported 13,680 cases with 200 deaths. Canada has reported 800 cases with nine deaths. We at Prost Amerika and Prost International strongly recommend that you follow instructions from the appropriate health authorities in order to slow the spread of the virus.
