Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates during the English Premier League match between Liverpool and AFC Bournemouth at Anfield in Liverpool, Britain on March 7, 2020. (Xinhua)
Finally, top-flight football league in England is to return pitch as June 17 has been set as the provisional date of resuming the season.
LONDON, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The top-flight football league in England have set June 17 as the provisional date of resuming the season, announced the Premier League on Thursday.
The statement released on Thursday read: "Premier League shareholders today agreed to a new provisional restart date for the 2019/20 season of Wednesday 17 June, provided that all safety requirements are in place."
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters insisted that "this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all participants and supporters is our priority".
AFC Bournemouth's Callum Wilson (L) shoots during the English Premier League match between Liverpool and AFC Bournemouth at Anfield in Liverpool, Britain on March 7, 2020. (Xinhua)
The Premier League along with all the elite football games in England were suspended on March 13 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The 20 top-flight clubs have been allowed to start small-group, non-contact training from last Tuesday and got the permission to resume contact training on Wednesday.
There are 92 remaining Premier League games this season and all of them will broadcast live in Britain.
"Sadly, matches will have to take place without fans in stadiums, so we are pleased to have come up with a positive solution for supporters to be able to watch all the remaining 92 matches," said Masters. "It is important to ensure as many people as possible can watch the matches at home."
Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates after the English Premier League match between Liverpool and AFC Bournemouth at Anfield in Liverpool, Britain on March 7, 2020. (Xinhua)
Sky sports, with 64 live Premier League games to show when the season resumes, will make 25 available free to air.
On Wednesday, the Premier League confirmed four more positive cases for COVID-19, raising the total number to 12 across the league so far after 2,752 tests in three rounds. ■
