For the past two months, the world hasn’t been the same because of COVID-19. Mostly everything has been shut down and sports are close to returning to action. Let’s take a look at some sports leagues and see their steps to starting back up again.
UFC
The UFC returned this past Saturday for UFC 249 which headlined Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The event was held without fans and only included important personnel. Overall, the exclusion of fans didn’t affect the experience of the fights. There was still commentary from Jon Anik, Joe Rogan, and Daniel Cormier. The highlights of the night were from Francis Ngannou effortlessly knocking out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 20 seconds and Justin Gaethje taking the Lightweight interim title belt over Tony Ferguson.
Dana White, the president of the UFC, was actively pushing for his athletes to return to the octagon. White made sure that all personnel got tested for the coronavirus prior to the fight. I noticed that the octagon was wiped down between each fight which is a good step. Although, I only saw trainers and the referees wear either gloves and/or a mask. White may have to be a little more strict if he wants to continue scheduling fights in the next few months. White has lined up Fight Night for May 13 at 6:00 p.m. ET that can be viewed on ESPN+, as well as May 16 at 6:00 p.m. ET that will be airing on ESPN.
Soccer
Bundesliga
Bundesliga, the soccer league in Germany, is returning this weekend after being on hold since March 8. Players and coaches have been tested and isolated for two weeks to train and practice. The season is back and will start on May 16 with Borussia Dortmund vs FC Schalke 04.
MLS
The MLS is planning on having a summer tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. Players will start training June 1 and start matches about a month later. The matches will also be held without fans. Testing will be required for players, the coaching staff, and the hotel staff.
Serie A
The Italian league is hoping to return on June 13 awaiting the approval of the Italian government. Training would start on May 18 for teams and matches will go on without fans. Players and staff will also be regularly tested.
La Liga
The top league in Spain, La Liga, have had all their teams return to practice. Every player in Spain’s top two divisions has been tested. There will be no fans in attendance for matches and La Liga president Javier Tebas is coming up with ideas to help liven the environment for fans watching at home. Tebas would like to resume games on June 12 and finish the scheduled matches around the end of July.
Premier League
There hasn’t been a concrete date on when the English Premier League will return. UEFA set a May 25 deadline for European leagues to decide the future of their seasons. A decision will be made later this month if the Premier League will return to action.
NBA
The NBA has been postponed since March 11th and the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been patient in deciding whether or not he wants to resume play. Silver has looked at possible locations for players to stay such as Las Vegas and the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando. Silver also needs to have available testing for players and staff.
Point guard Chris Paul held a conference call with other NBA stars that included LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and others. They discussed their thoughts on whether or not the NBA should return this season.
Adam Silver will make his decision within 2-4 weeks on the NBA finishing out their season. Fans will have to wait and see if things progress.
NHL
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has no plans as of right now to cancel the rest of the NHL season. The last NHL game was on March 11 and teams were less than 15 games away from finishing the regular season. Bettman realizes that if the season were to end around August or September, the following season would have to start in the late fall. The NHL draft has also postponed and a date for it will be decided.
MLB
The MLB has proposed an 82-game season that has the season beginning in July. Another part of the proposal is that the National League will be required to have a designated hitter for all games, which I believe is a smart idea. Teams would be able to hold more players on their roster because of this change.
The playoff format would be a bit different. There would be 14 teams with an extra wild card game for each league. These changes would have to be approved by the players’ union.
Hopefully, all sports can come back soon and that each league takes the proper precautions in keeping athletes and other personnel healthy.
Photo credits: Forbes, twitter, Bleacher Report, Sportcasting, The Boston Globe