When the global pandemic first began, many people were quick to dismiss sports and deem them as unessential. As time passed, though, we all quickly became aware of the large role that sports play in our lives. This is especially true for soccer fans across the world, as that is the dominant sports in so many regions. While some major soccer leagues decided to cancel the season, others adopted a wait and see stance, hoping that things would improve enough for play to resume. The English Premier League (EPL) was one of those leagues, and that patience is about to be rewarded, as we will soon see the resumption of the season. Let’s now take a closer look at how things played out over the last couple of months and how we came to this point so you can begin to plan your bets against our Premier League odds.
English Premier League COVID-19 Status & Return Date
Premier League Pandemic Timeline
Europe was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, so much so that many of us wondered just how long it would be before normal life, never mind just sports, would return. We are still a good way off from seeing fully normal life return, but we will at least have some football to look forward to. Best of all, there is going to be EPL soccer on every day in the near future, but we will get into that in a moment.
The dominoes all fell rather quickly in the world of sports once the world started to go into lockdown mode. The last time we saw any action in the EPL was back on March 9, when Leicester hammered Aston Villa 4-0. Restart dates, including one for June 1, have come and gone, but things have now finally been sorted and the remainder of the season scheduled, so let’s get into that exciting news.
Premier League Format for the Remainder of the Season
The EPL worked under a set of regulations known as Project Restart, to get the game back to a stage where we could see a safe resumption of play. This included allowing players individual access to team training facilities, before finally opening the doors for full training. That move came with strict testing guidelines, and while a few players did test positive, they were immediately quarantined to stop the possibility of spreading the virus.
Once the EPL was given the go ahead to commence the season, they were very quick to get a schedule in place. Games will start on June 17, but the great news for fans is that no two games will be played at the same time and all will be shown live on TV. Since fans are not going to be able to attend games in person, this was deemed the next best way to hand the sport back to the people who love it. There will be games played every single day until the season comes to a close, allowing time to prepare for the next season, which could begin as early as August.
Of all the sports that have announced their intent to return, you could argue that the return of the EPL is the one that has been the most well received. Watch this space for more news and previews once the games begin.