The coronavirus pandemic has forced football executives around the world to scramble to come up with a way to maintain the integrity of the competitions while also keeping players and fans safe.
With the Belgian league deciding to end their season early and name Club Brugge the champions, and other leagues considering the same route as well, FIFA will reportedly announce a plan to extend the 2019-20 season in the coming days.
According to the report from The Athletic, FIFA will allow each country to decide when their domestic competitions will be completed, which makes sense considering each country has been impacted by the coronavirus differently.
This decision obviously opens up the issue of what to do with players who are out of contract after June 30. To solve this issue, contract extensions will be offered so that teams will not have to compete without players they have relied on all season before the health crisis.
The summer transfer window could be impacted as well with FIFA considering changing the dates of when teams can sign players. Currently, the transfer window opens for Ligue 1 clubs on June 9, and closes on August 31.
The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) recently announced that they planned to complete the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 season by June 30, or possibly July 15 as a backup. The news from FIFA makes that backup date a lot more reasonable especially for PSG who are set to lose several key starters who are out of contract on June 30.
PSG currently holds a 12-point-lead over rivals Olympique de Marseille at the top of Ligue 1 and they should cruise to the title once the season resumes. More important is the UEFA Champions League season, which PSG reached the quarter-finals of by defeating Borussia Dortmund. UEFA continues to work to find a solution to completing the tournament as PSG looks to win its first title in club history.
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.