Spanish Prime Minister Gives Green Light for La Liga to Return From 8 June
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has confirmed that La Liga matches can resume from 8 June.
Football in Spain was put on hold in March following the COVID-19 outbreak, with the country being one of the worst hit in Europe by the virus.
Following a lengthy lockdown period, Spain has eased some restrictions recently - paving the way for La Liga clubs to return to small scale training at the beginning of the month.
The league's president Javier Tebas then confirmed that plans were afoot for matches to resume on 12 June two weeks ago - so long as the government allowed it.
That state-backed approval has now come with prime minister Sánchez confirming further easing of coronavirus restrictions. These included permission for top flight football to return from the week beginning 8 June (via Sid Lowe).
Though a 12 June restart is preferred, La Liga have yet to confirm the exact date when action will resume.
Pedro Sánchez announces that league can return on week of June 8, meaning that their preference for June 12 restart looking good.
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) May 23, 2020
The news means that Spain would likely become the second major footballing nation in Europe to restart proceedings after the Bundesliga kicked off last weekend.
The Premier League's Project Restart has also been picking up traction in recent weeks. English clubs returned to small-group training this week with both Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire revealing they felt safe throughout proceedings.
However, plans for Englsih football's imminent return have been criticised by other players. Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling have both expressed concerns while Troy Deeney went as far as to rule himself out for the rest of the season in order to keep his young family safe.