La Liga starts preparing for season restart

La Liga president Javier Tebas said that the Spanish league might resume as early as May 28 if everything goes as planned. He further said that the league has proposed three possible dates to restart the competition.

The last time that a Spanish club played a competitive game was on March 11, when Atletico Madrid knocked defending champions Liverpool out of the UEFA Champions League.

Tebas said that the clubs' training sessions will not return to normal until the emergency measures are lifted in Spain. The emergency measures will officially remain in place until at least April 26, pending possible extensions.

Spain is the second worst-hit country in the world. The country has lost over 14,000 lives because of the coronavirus pandemic with nearly 142,000 positive cases registered.

In case the current La Liga campaign is cancelled, Tebas estimates that the involved clubs will lose more than 1 billion euros.

Tebas also revealed that the Spanish league authorities are currently having discussions with UEFA regarding the three possible start dates.

He said, "The most probable ones are 28 May, 6 June or 28 June. We still have time to get back to training before that. If we are looking at the economic impact, including the money we would get from European competitions, the revenue Spanish clubs would miss out on if we don't get back playing again is 1 billion euros. If we do get playing but without spectators, it would be 300 million. Even if we get back to playing with spectators, the damage would be 150 million euros."

He further revealed that La Liga has already received 90% of its broadcasting rights payments. Now that about 28% of the season is still remaining, the Federation would be required to repay the broadcasters a hefty amount in case no more games are played.

According to the Guardian, Tebas is in regular contact with UEFA.

The 57-year-old Spanish football chief said that La Liga isn't worried about a failure to complete the currently halted domestic campaign. They are fully determined to play on and crown a champion.

Reportedly, the Spanish Footballers' Association and the Spanish Football Federation have been discussing the possibility of a minimum 72-hour gap between La Liga matches, when the season resumes.

Previously, the gap was aimed for only 48 hours, which is not a practical approach. It is said that the Federation is putting the players' health above the completion of the tournament.