Sunday. 22.12.2024

Europeans face a weekend without sports for the first time

Many leagues of different disciplines have been suspended or games are postponed. Read here the list of cancellations in the main sports.

football Pukki-and-Malin-vie-for-possession-by-UEFAcom Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki (L) is Finland's star. Photo: UEFAcom/file photo.
Finnish football star Teemu Pukki (left, in white shirt) in a recent international match. Photo: @UEFAcom.
The Nomad Today
The Nomad Today
March 13, 2020 at 9:30 PM

The spread of coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) is affecting our lives in all forms. This weekend, millions of people from all over the world will probably stay at their homes. The quarantine -imposed or freely chosen- could be less hard for sports lovers if they were able to watch their favourite competitions. But this will not be possible either.

Lots of sports games have been postponed and leagues suspended. Here the some examples:

Football

  • On Friday, UEFA announced that all Champions League and Europa League matches set for next week have now been postponed amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
  • In England, the Premier League of football has been suspended until April 4 due to coronavirus.
  • Spain suspended its top two divisions for at least two weeks.
  • In Italy, Serie A has been suspended till further notice.
  • France will ban spectators from all games in the top two divisions until 15 April. The League Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, originally scheduled for 4 April, has been postponed indefinitely.
  • In Germany, all weekend games in the Bundesliga will be played without fans, a first for the league.
  • Portugal will play the league games without fans for at least two weeks and Belgium for a week.
  • In Japan, J League games have been postponed.
  • In China, the Super League schedule has not yet begun, with no date for a return set, as much of the country is under virtual lockdown.
  • All World Cup qualifying games in Asia were postponed until the fall.
  • The Slovakia-Ireland playoff for Euro 2020 will be played without fans.
  • The CONCACAF Champions League was suspended with immediate effect.
  • The Oceania Football Confederation announced that all tournaments are postponed until May 2020.

Hockey

  • In Finland, the hockey league said the final matches of the regular season would be played this weekend without fans and a decision on the play-offs would be made later.
  • In the US, the National Hockey League announced the 2019–20 season was indefinitely suspended.
  • In Sweden, the hockey league said the matches would be played without fans.

Basketball

  • In USA, NBA suspended the season on March 11, 2020.
  • In Europe, The EuroLeague competitions of the European basketball have been suspended.

Motorsports

  • F1 races are canceled.
  • The Formula E championship for electric cars postponed the Rome and Sanya ePrix.
  • The 1000 Miles of Sebring race was cancelled.
  • Prior to the 2020 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, part of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR announced that no fans would be permitted to attend the race.

Europe Football Sports Coronavirus COVID-19 Koronavirus
Europeans face a weekend without sports for the first time