Newsdeck

Newsdeck

Premier League clubs can play friendlies before season restart – reports

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 07: Allan Saint-Maximin of Newcastle United celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Newcastle United at St Mary's Stadium on March 07, 2020 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

June 2 (Reuters) - Premier League clubs have been given the green light to take part in friendlies with strict protocols in place as they prepare for the restart of England's top-flight season on June 17, British media reported on Tuesday.

Venues must not be more than 90 minutes away and players will need to travel in their own cars and arrive in full kit, according to Sky Sports.

Matches will be refereed by members of the clubs’ coaching staff and players involved need to have returned a negative test for COVID-19, the reports said.

The Premier League, which has nine rounds remaining, has been suspended since mid-March but clubs have since returned to group training, with the government giving elite sport permission to return from June 1.

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers said the Midlands club will stage practice games at the King Power Stadium to help their players get up to speed.

“We’ll look at trying to prepare as best we can for that. We’ll have some practice games in our own stadium before we play, so they’ll feel and get a sense of that,” Rodgers told British media. (Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Gallery

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

MavericKids vol 3

How can a child learn to read if they don't have a book?

81% of South African children aged 10 can't read for meaning. You can help by pre-ordering a copy of MavericKids.

For every copy sold we will donate a copy to Gift of The Givers for children in need of reading support.

A South African Hero: You

There’s a 99.8% chance that this isn’t for you. Only 0.2% of our readers have responded to this call for action.

Those 0.2% of our readers are our hidden heroes, who are fuelling our work and impacting the lives of every South African in doing so. They’re the people who contribute to keep Daily Maverick free for all, including you.

The equation is quite simple: the more members we have, the more reporting and investigations we can do, and the greater the impact on the country.

Be part of that 0.2%. Be a Maverick. Be a Maverick Insider.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options