On Monday, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) announced that the 2019-20 Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 seasons will conclude by June 30, or possibly July 15 as a backup.
Since March 13, French football has come to a standstill as the coronavirus pandemic has forced the suspension of leagues around the country. To date, France has had more than 20,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 862 deaths.
Short-term funding of clubs also featured heavily & will be a priority moving forward, while the LFP also expressed its support of "government initiatives that will enable top-level athletes to return to training ASAP."
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) March 23, 2020
Completing the season by June 30 is key because that’s the date many player contracts expire. If the date is pushed back to July 15, it will be interesting to see what happens to those players and how it affects the transfer market.
The meeting of the LFP Board of Directors also discussed the impending financial crisis that will affect clubs due to the lack of revenue during the football shutdown. Making sure clubs can survive without the money they expected to receive at the start of the season will be a priority for the LFP.
Finally, with so many players going stir-crazy at home and kicking rolls of toilet paper, the LFP “will also support all government initiatives that will allow high-performance athletes to be able to train again as soon as possible.”
We’re still a long way away from football returning but this news offers a slight glimmer of hope that the season will be concluded and not completely abandoned.
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.
