The return of top-flight know about when – and
THE Welsh Government have given the green light for elite level sports to resume in Wales line with those in England.
And fans are finally set to be able to enjoy seeing many of their beloved stars in action in the near future, albeit on television given that events are to be held behind closed doors owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
In May, it was confirmed that professional sportspeople could train, providing that they do so in line with Government rules and maintain social distancing.
The next review of lockdown measures on June 18 will include assessing “enabling non-professional elite athletes, including our Olympic athletes, to train safely”.
But plenty of sports are already back.
Here’s the latest information you need on when rugby, football and other professional sports are returning.
Rugby union
The Guinness PRO14 campaign is set to resume in August, with WalesOnline last month revealing league bosses had sent out a provisional plan to conclude the 2019/20 season to participating teams.
Under the draft proposals, the remainder of the regular campaign will be played out over just two weekends, beginning on August 22. This will involve all sides just playing two derby matches.
The play-off semi-finals are scheduled for September 5. A September 17-19 slot is set to be reserved for the final.
The Gallagher Premiership are yet to confirm its stance on their campaign, although in France it was announced that the current Top 14 season has been scrapped after Government officials revealed no sporting events would take place in the country until September.
Further afield, New Zealand have revealed a domestic form of Super Rugby is set to start on June 13.
The Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders will all compete in the Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa, with two fixtures taking place in each of the 10 rounds of the competition. All matches will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Australian sides Reds, Waratahs, Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels will hold a similar domestic series from July 3.
As for the international game, all summer Tests have been postponed, including Wales’ tour of Japan and New Zealand.
The paused Six Nations could be concluded in October.
It’s been suggested that Paul Goze, president of Ligue Nationale de Rugby, has proposed for the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship to be played at the same time in
March and April 2021, with the next domestic seasons in Wales, England and France to start in January 2021.
As part of these plans, the 2020 summer Test schedule would be move to the autumn slot.
As for the community game in Wales, it remains to be seen when leagues will resume.
There a huge concerns over coronavirus testing, which grassroots clubs simply cannot afford.
It means a return of the game in the local community could be dependant on a vaccine being created. It’s not inconceivable rugby beneath the pro level will not resume until 2021.
Football
The Bundesliga campaign has already resumed, with all fixtures being screen live on BT Sport.
La Liga and Serie A also continue this month.
The English Premier League will restart on June 17, with Man City facing Arsenal and Aston Vila taking on Sheffield United.
All games will be shown live on television.
And it has been confirmed the Championship expect to restart from
June 20, with plans in place for each of the remaining 108 games to be screened live.
It remains to be seen whether or not the League One campaign will resume while League Two is expected to be curtailed.
In Wales, leagues will not return until next term across the entire pyramid after the current season was curtailed, with Connah’s Quay winning the
Cymru Premier for the first time this season on a points-per-game basis.
Swansea City Ladies are the women’s Welsh Premier League champions and will go into the Champions League.
Tennis
Wimbledon is among the high-profile events to be postponed owing to the coronavirus outbreak.
But it has been announced the