Bundesliga Eyes Return From Coronavirus Suspension in May

Action could resume in Germany next month with closed-door matches.

Germany's top two divisions are eyeing a return to play at all 36 stadiums by "the beginning of May," according to the New York Times' Tariq Panja.

All Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs returned to the practice field this week. After nearly a month of training, the league plans to return in May, looking to complete its schedule "by the end of June," with a slate of closed-door matches, The Times reports from its conversation with Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert.

The Bundesliga suspended matches indefinitely on March 13 due to the coronavirus outbreak. It was the last major European league to suspend play, but Germany has "managed to cope with the crisis perhaps better than anywhere else in the world," per Panja. 

“We are part of the culture in the country, people long to get back a short piece of normal life, and that could mean the Bundesliga plays again,” Seifert told Panja. “This is why we have to play our role here, and that means to support the government and to talk with the government about when we will be able to play again.”

There are more than 796,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus globally across at least 171 countries.