Fans to be at athletics meet in Berlin in September

July 21

-- Athletics with live fans 

Berlin's ISTAF (Internationale Stadionfest Berlin) athletics meet can take place in front of up to 3,500 fans in September, meet director Martin Seeber said in a statement on the ISTAF homepage.

"We are very happy that we can at least allow several thousand fans to attend thanks to our comprehensive safety and hygiene concept," Seeber is quoted as saying in the statement.

The ISTAF is set for September 13 in the Olympic Stadium and if local coronavirus protocols are followed and 3,500 fans can be present, it would be one of the first big events in Germany to have an attendance amid the pandemic.

An additional 1,500 people, ranging from athletes and officials to security and technical personnel, and media, are also expected in attendance. 

July 15

-- IFAB extends five-subsitute option into 2021

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) which oversees football's Laws of the Game has extended the five-substitute option until July 2021.

The maximum number of substitutes permitted per team was increased from three to five in countries where football restarted following the coronavirus-enforced break - a temporary amendment to "Law 3 - The Players" to ease the burden on footballers playing on tightened schedules and in different weather conditions.

Justifying the extension of the amendment, the IFAB said it has taken into account the shorter-than-usual recovery/preparation period ahead of next season, as well as fixture congestion throughout the 2020/21 campaign.

As before, teams will still only have three opportunities to make their five substitutions in order to avoid disruption to the game.

July 12

-- DFB president Fritz Keller eyeing safe return of fans

Fritz Keller is aiming to fill stadiums in Germany again as quickly as possible, and has thrown his weight behind Union Berlin's concept for the safe admission of fans.

"My dream would be to get a full stadium through testing, perhaps one day," said the former Freiburg president. "We must do everything we can to get spectators back into the stadiums."

On Friday, Union Berlin presented an ambitious concept to fill their stadium at the Alte Försterei again from September 18. On match days, the club wants to test its employees and all 22,012 season ticket holders for COVID-19. Access to the stadium would then only be granted to those fans who can show a negative test that is not older than 24 hours.

Keller has emphasized that the health of fans is "above all" and at the forefront of any plans.

-- Fans back in France

Football fans in France have returned to the stands for the first time since the coronavirus shut down soccer.

French League 2 club Le Havre hosted a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side, with only 5,000 fans allowed in the 25,000-seat Stade Oceane.

Spectators had to wear face masks to get into the ground and were asked to sit apart from one another once they were in the stands.

The return of fans comes as deaths in France surpassed 30,000, with growing concerns about a possible second wave of infections.

French football officials are the first among Europe's big 5 leagues to allow spectators back into the stadium. France is the only one to have abandoned its domestic league completely, never resuming it even after new infection rates began to dip.

-- MLS restart suffers another setback

A positive COVID-19 case forced the postponement of the game between D.C. United and Toronto FC in the US's top soccer league.

"Major League Soccer will continue to prioritize the health and safety of all participants of the MLS is Back Tournament in making these decisions," the league said in a brief statement.

Both FC Dallas and Nashville withdrew from the competition last week before a ball had been kicked due to multiple COVID-19 cases.

July 11

-- NHL announces return to action

Ice hockey has become the latest sport to finalize a return after NHL owners and players approved an agreement to resume the season.

Games are scheduled to begin on August 1 in Toronto and Edmonton with coronavirus cases in the United States pushing the league into Canada for the summer and fall until the Stanley Cup is awarded in late September or early October.

Training camps open across North America on Monday, which is also the deadline for players to opt out of participating with no penalty.
 

July 10

-- Fans to be allowed in for F1 race in Sochi

The Formula 1 race in Sochi in September could be the first of the season that spectators will be allowed to attend. 

The 27 race will be the 10th of a season that was forced to start months late in front of empty stands due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Friday that he hoped organizers in Sochi would be able to make it happen.

"Russia is ready to receive the Formula 1 teams and spectators. The government will provide all the assistance required during the preparation and delivery of the competition," Chernyshenko said. "It will be an important event for Russian sport.''

It was not immediately clear how many fans Russian authorities are pondering letting inside the 55,000-capacity Sochi Autodrom.

-- DFB, DFL working on plans to bring fans back to stadiums

German football fans may be able to return to stadiums soon, the German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL) said on Friday.

DFB Secretary-General Friedrich Curtius said in a statement that he expected the German FA would be able to come up with a plan that would allow fans to be present for the national team's home games this autumn.

"We are using our expertise and are in ongoing talks with the health authorities," Curtius told the sports portal Sportbuzzer on Friday. 

 

DFL CEO Christian Seifert said in last Sunday's edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that his organization was was working with the German Health Ministry health ministry to draw up guidelines that would allow Bundesliga clubs play in front of fans next season. 

July 9

-- Asia Cup postponed for a year

The Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament that had been scheduled for September has been postponed until 2021, the Asian Cricket  Council (ACC) announced on Thursday. It said travel restrictions, various national quarantine requirements, and the ongoing threat of the coronavirus were the main reasons behind the decision. Sri Lanka is now expected to host the tournament in June 2021.

July 8

-- NHL, NHLPA agree plan to return to ice

The National Hockey League (NHL) and its players association (NHLPA) have reached a tentative deal to a return to play after the season was put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak in mid-March. The deal would see formal training camps start on July 13, clubs travel to hub cities Toronto and Edmonton in Canada on July 26 and the qualifying round start on August 1. It also includes a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players, which had been set to expire in 2022. The deal is subject to approval by the NHL's Board of Governors and the full NHLPA membership. 

-- Ryder Cup postponed

This year's Ryder Cup has been put off for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers announced on Wednesday. 

The popular biennial event between American and European players had been scheduled for September 25-27 at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It is now to be played September 24-26, 2021, at the same location. 

July 7

-- ECA: Coronavirus to cost clubs €4 billion

It's no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has had a major negative financial impact on football, but a study released by the European Club Association (ECA) on Tuesday quantifies the damage. 

According to the study, European football clubs are set to lose some €4 billion ($4.5 billion) in revenue due to COVID-19, something Charlie Marshall, CEO of the ECA described as a "seismic shock" to the professional game.

It said Europe's 55 leagues stood to lose €1.6 billion from the current season and €2.4 billion in 2020-21. Of those, a sample of 10 leagues – including the big five of England, Italy, Germany, Spain and France – would lose €3.6 billion, with lost ticket sales income amounting to €1.5 billion over the two seasons.

"The financial impact does not stop when the game resumes. Rather, it will continue into the next season and we must take measures to create a more sustainable football industry in the long run," Marshall said.

-- RB Leipzig hoping to have fans in stadium in September

RB Leipzig could be the first Bundesliga club to be able to play matches with spectators in the stadium since the coronavirus outbreak. The minister of health in the eastern German state of Saxony announced on Tuesday that events with more than 1,000 participants will be allowed starting on September 1 – provided that hygiene rules are observed and contact tracing is implemented. 

However, Minister of Health Petra Köpping stressed that arenas or stadiums in Saxony would not be full beginning in September. 

RB Leipzig have said they were making preparations to host spectators again even before Tuesday's announcement. It's thought that the club would be allowed to host 21,000 spectators, or about half the capacity of the Red Bull Arena.

Read more: A timeline of coronavirus' impact on the world of sports in June