The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world standstill and halted all sporting events including football worldwide. The Olympics have been pushed back to 2021, so are the Euros and Copa America. We even saw top soccer leagues ended their season in France, Netherlands and Belgium.
The pandemic has impacted every major professional soccer league around the world, forcing to play the matches behind-closed-door and then halting the seasons worldwide. Only Belarusian Premier League and Nicaragua League are still being played. The Belarusleague isn’t part of World Association of Professional Football Leagues, otherwise known as World Leagues Forum.
Germany’s Bundesliga could return as soon as next week (could start on May 15), while South Korea’s K League is set to resume on Friday. But it’s likely we would not see leagues resume until the outbreak is contained and the conditions are considered safe in that respective country. As football returns, it would be with with caution and all the stakeholders have to follow Government health advisory.
Here’s he status of some of the biggest leagues and competitions (please note, many leagues are considering restart and some of the decisions are expected in next few days).
Notable European Competitions
| Competition | Status | |
| UEFA | European Championship | Officially suspended until June 2021. |
| UEFA | Champions League | Suspended. No decision has yet been made on rearranged dates. There’s a chance the tournament is completed in August. |
| UEFA | Europa League | Suspended. No decision has yet been made on rearranged dates. Most probably the tournament will be played in a block in August. |
| England | Premier League | Suspended. There are continued meetings to try and come up with a plan to finish the season during the summer with a potential return in June. |
| England | FA Cup | Suspended. There are continued meetings to try and come up with a plan to finish the season during the summer. |
| France | Ligue 1 | Season canceled. |
| France | Coupe de France final | Suspended indefinitely, with the aim being to have the final between PSG and Saint-Etienne when sports return in France. |
| France | Coupe de la Ligue final | Suspended indefinitely, with the aim being to have the final between PSG and Lyon when sports return in France. |
| Germany | Bundesliga | Suspended with an announcement on returning to play expected Wednesday. |
| Germany | DFB-Pokal | Suspended until German leagues return. |
| Italy | Serie A | Suspended indefinitely. The Italian FA is aiming to have training in early May and matches later in the month. |
| Italy | Coppa Italia | Suspended indefinitely. The tournament could return before Serie A resumes. |
| Spain | La Liga | Suspended indefinitely. Training is resuming in early May with the league targeting games in mid-June. |
| Spain | Copa del Rey final | Suspended indefinitely. Once La Liga returns, they’ll find a date for the final. |
Rest of European leagues
| League | Status |
|---|---|
| Austria | Suspended, though training has resumed. |
| Azerbaijan | Suspended |
| Belgium | The league’s board of directors voted to cancel the season early, though it hasn’t been finalized. |
| Croatia | Suspended indefinitely. Training has resumed. |
| Denmark | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Finland | Suspended until at least May 31. |
| Greece | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Israel | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Kazakhstan | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Latvia | Start of the season has been postponed indefinitely. |
| Lithuania | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Netherlands | Season canceled. |
| Northern Ireland | Suspended until at least April 30. |
| Norway | Start of the season has been postponed indefinitely. Decision expected on May 7. |
| Poland | Restarting on May 29. |
| Portugal | Planning on restarting on May 30. Teams begain training this week. |
| Romania | Suspendedd indefinitely.. |
| Russia | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Scotland | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Serbia | Training has resumed, and the league is aiming to return in late May or early June. |
| Slovakia | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Sweden | Start of season Suspended until June as teams are now training. |
| Switzerland | Planning to restart on June 8. Training resuming on May 11. |
| Turkey | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Ukraine | Suspended indefinitely. |
North American competitions (USA/Canada/Mexico)
| Competiton | Status | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S./Canada | Major League Soccer | Suspended until at least June 8. |
| U.S. | U.S. Open Cup | Suspended indefinitely. |
| U.S. | National Women’s Soccer League | Start of the season Suspended indefinitely. |
| U.S./Canada/Mexico | Leagues Cup | Scheduled for July 21-September 16. |
| U.S./Mexico | Campeones Cup | Scheduled for Aug. 12. |
| Mexico | Liga MX | Suspended indefinitely with the league eying a June or July return. |
| CONCACAF | Champions League | Suspended indefinitely. |
Rest of North American Leagues
Domestic leagues in Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama are suspended indefinitely.
Notable South American competitions
| Competition | Status | |
| CONMEBOL | Copa America | Suspended until June 2021. |
| CONMEBOL | Copa Libertadores | Suspended until at least early May. |
| CONMEBOL | Copa Sudamericana | Suspended until at least early May. |
| Argentina | Superliga Argentina | Suspended indefinitely.. |
| Argentina | Copa de la Superliga | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Argentina | Copa Argentina | Suspended indefinitely. |
| Brazil | Campeonato Brasileiro (Serie A) | Scheduled to begin in May with players looking for health assurances from leaders. |
| Brazil | Copa do Brasil | Suspended indefinitely. |
Rest of South American leagues
Domestic leagues of Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela were suspended indefinitely.
- Juventus star Paulo Dybala recovers from Coronavirus
- DFL: Bundesliga to restart on May 15
- Before Football restarts – Top 40 Interesting Quotes
- Coronavirus: Return of Football – Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A
- Loris Karius terminated loan contract with Besiktas
