German football, like all other countries, is suspended at the moment
Germany’s professional football leagues, from the Bundesliga down, are currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. The last game to be played in the top division was a local derby between Borussia Moenchengladbach and FC Koln on March 11. Since then, not a single game has been played.
This suspension has led to a number of the problems that other domestic leagues are experiencing across the world, most notably financial pressure on both the leagues and the clubs that make them up.
Without football being played, broadcast rights holders are in many cases withholding instalments for the final rounds of fixtures, meaning clubs are going without much needed cash injections.
While English football is currently figuring out how to return to the pitch and some form of normality, plans are already well underway in Germany to bring the game back without supporters for the foreseeable future.
We spoke to Constantin Eckner, the editor of German football analysis website Spielverlagerung about how different football would look if the plans proceed, the high number of coronavirus tests produced by Germany which could make it possible, and why the government is likely to approve it.
Split the stadium into three areas 🏟
20,000 tests for players and staff 💉
Social distance training 👥@cc_eckner explains how Germany plans to bring football back in May pic.twitter.com/3Gc9qGRAOl— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) April 24, 2020
