Informational/Did You Know

The 2020-21 English Premier League season will begin on Sept. 12 and the final round of matches will be held on May 23, the league announced on Friday.

The new season, originally scheduled to begin on Aug. 8, has been delayed this year after the Premier League suspended the 2019-20 season for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three hundred and fifty-three days since Liverpool kicked off the Premier League season it will stagger to a conclusion on Sunday with unresolved issues at both ends of the table set to provide last-day drama.

Liverpool are champions and Norwich City, the side whom they beat on Aug. 9 to launch their title charge, are down and Manchester City are distant runners-up.

After that everything is up for grabs.

With fall quickly approaching, schools and colleges aren’t the only organizations trying to figure out if and when it’s appropriate for young people to return to normal activities amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic. Soccer clubs across the country are asking themselves, is it safe to play youth soccer right now?

States around the country began opening up from lockdown over the last month or two, only to see huge spikes in cases of Covid-19 across the country, especially in southern states like Texas, Florida and Arizona, a few of the hotbeds for youth soccer in America. 

Spain's health minister has expressed doubt about the prospect of spectators returning to soccer matches in September due to the threat of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections.

The government's department for sport and organizing body LaLiga had hoped to let fans back into stadiums at a reduced capacity when the new season starts in September, increasing to 50% in November before full capacity returned in January.

The Premier League said on Wednesday that the 2020 summer transfer window dates will be open for 10 weeks from July 27 and close on Oct. 5, with a domestic-only window for English Football League (EFL) clubs until Oct. 16.

The league made the announcement after all shareholders agreed on the dates. It added that the transfer window was subject to the approval of FIFA.

The window, which has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent late finish to the season, opens one day after the completion of the top-flight campaign.

Football's rule-making body IFAB on Wednesday said teams will be allowed to continue to use up to five substitutes next season, in a bid to cope with potential fixture congestion in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak.

IFAB, the International Football Association Board, had agreed to a temporary change to allow teams to use five substitutes, rather than the usual three, in May to "protect player welfare."

World Cup fans will be able to watch an unprecedented four games a day on television, spread out over 11 hours, during the group stage of the Qatar 2022 tournament after the 2022 World Cup schedule was confirmed on Wednesday.

With the relatively short travel distances for the venues in and around Doha, it could be possible for fans who travel to the 32-team tournament to attend multiple games each day.

The early games will kickoff at 1300 local (6 a.m. ET) with the fourth match starting at 2200 local (3 p.m. ET) and finishing just before midnight.