More than 50 top-tier football matches across Europe on Saturday and Sunday may have been played in empty stadiums but for football fans in particular and sports lovers in general, live soccer action was a massive relief for those watching the fixtures from the comfort of their homes around the world. English Premier League, with millions of viewers around the world on any given day, also kicked off proceedings after a lull in action for more than three months this weekend. Premier League action has resumed at a time when Spanish government yesterday announced it was opening its borders to welcome visitors from Britain and the countries that make the Schengen Zone (except Portugal).
Resuming football action in the last six weeks along with tennis matches - planned at two different cities by world number one Novak Djokovic - and horse racing battles in France and England have allowed governments in Europe to lessen the restriction on residents in free movement in every day life. Though presence of fans at sports venues may still be some time away but for football leagues in Europe to triple in the number of matches in a matter of weeks is a welcome relief. It won’t be long before cricket connoisseurs join the football fans next month when England - after creating bio-secure environment - will host West Indies and Pakistan for Test cricket in July, August and September.
Though there has been no international cricket since March because of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe but next month’s Test matches between England and West Indies will most likely pave the way for the return of international fixtures among the other seven Test playing nations including Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the coming weeks and months. Pakistan’s cricket squad will fly out to England later this month whereas West Indies’ team is already in England to complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Last week, around 1500 German tourists landed in Mallorca, Spain, to help both countries establish a travel corridor for the first time in months. Following the arrival of German tourists, thousands of residents yesterday boarded trains at Atocha Station after spending more than three months confined in Madrid. With sports action getting intense in terms of fixtures across Europe, hopefully it won’t be long before fans would be seen at the turnstiles of sports venues around the world to watch their favourite players and teams in action.
