Friday , March 29 2024

Is the DFL taking a calculated risk on restarting the Bundesliga?

The world is in the grip of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and football around the planet has nearly come to a standstill, but Germany’s Bundesliga is set for a restart on Saturday, May 16.

This raises the question, is the DFL taking a calculated risk on restarting the Bundesliga? Or are they not?

The DFL – Deutsche Fußball Liga runs the two top tier divisions of German football, the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, and they are in-charge of the 36 professional clubs playing in those leagues.

And since they were forced to suspend the 2019/20 season by the German government in March, the DFL has been working on plans on how to restart the leagues once the pandemic was either eradicated or under control and finish the 2019/20 season in time to ensure the financial stability of the DFL and their clubs while also keeping commitments to the 56,000 plus people working in German football.

The DFL had presented a hygiene based plan including regular corona tests to the authorities to get their okay to restart the season and after deliberations amongst the top political leadership of Germany, the DFL got an okay to restart from May 16 with an aim to finish the 2019/20 season by the weekend of June 27/28 keeping the transfer deadline of June 30 in mind.

And not only Germany, but the whole football world is looking towards the Bundesliga to see if the hygiene regulations and regular testing will work in allowing the DFL to finish the league or if a number of positive Coronavirus tests force them to suspend the league for a second time, which would be damning on the DFL and the Bundesliga.

It isn’t easy for the DFL and their club as numerous examples show like the Facebook LIVE by Hertha BSC striker Salomon Kalou showed that contact in the dressing room can be more than the prescribed social distancing guidelines or the three positive Corona cases at 1.FC Köln which resulted in the emotional reaction of their midfielder Birger Verstraete due to heart issues of his girlfriend.

The restart has only been possible due to the general German measures against the Coronavirus working and society adhering to the strict social distancing norms. Now with a new phase of easing restrictions setting in, its a chance for professional football to start again despite apprehensions in society even amongst hardcore football fans asking if the timing is right for a restart. Only time will tell.

The situation isn’t easy but the DFL is trying its level best to ensure that the German football ecosystem stays alive in these trying times. One can only hope that it succeeds and shows the way for global football…

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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