The game is finally back and is back in a big way – the Bundesliga kicked things off but now the rest of Europe is set to follow, the schedule is looking to get a lot busier. We’re already seeing up to eighteen games played per week just in Germany, if the others are to follow we could be seeing up to seventy games per week across all European leagues.
The end date for most is being eyed toward the end of August so that the 20/21 season can be prepared and started in September, but given the ongoing situation, what may be expected for the upcoming season, and what changes may be seen for the sport in general as we move forward.
Empty stadiums
Unfortunately it seems empty stadiums will be here to stay for the longer term as social distancing measures remain in place – other sports have hinted that they may be able to do limited capacity attendance as Cricket has hinted that one way systems may be an answer – for now however, don’t bet on being able to attend the game in person until at least the new year perhaps.
Risk of cancellation
We’ve seen some leagues already be drawn to an early close – the French Ligue 1 and SPFL for example have already been cancelled, it also seems some of the lower leagues within the UK may follow the same fate as the EFL had recently announced more positive tests for some teams. If there potential for a second outbreak still remains, it’s also important to consider that there may also be the potential for future early cancellations.
Some teams might not be present
Alongside the risk of cancellation, we have already seen the result of this as some teams have been relegated or promoted – the news we haven’t yet seen is that of teams who may be unable to compete. Some of the smaller teams rely heavily on ticket sales at the gate on game day, and without a lot of support may not be able to field their roster, especially if an early season is called. Because of this, heading into the 20/21 season, we may see some of our favorite teams unable to compete at all.
There is some silver lining, however, to all of this. Despite some regulation changes that ban the use of credit card payments and the spreading of the initiative called Gamstop, as well as other cancellations had betting operators hit a bit of a low spot, but with everything coming back they’re also returning better than ever, a list of sites not on gamstop shows just how many operators are preparing for this huge return of sporting events giving punters a chance to get back into the game even if you’re unable to physically attend the games, at least there’s a way to get involved with the games if this is an area that is of interest to you.
