MLS says May kick-off is “extremely unlikely”

Major League Soccer says planned return to action on May 10 unlikely as Covid-19 crisis continues.

US.- Major League Soccer (MLS) has said it is “extremely unlikely” that it will resume play by mid-May as the Coronavirus crisis continues to impact the United States and the rest of the world.

Matches were suspended on March 12 for a week and then again on March 19 for a further eight weeks.

The MLS said it was following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and originally targeted a return date of May 10. 

But that date looks increasingly unlikely, especially after the MLS extended its training moratorium on all franchises until April 24. 

“Major League Soccer continues to regularly evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including how it will affect our plans for the 2020 season,” the league said in a statement.

“Although we hoped to return to play in mid-May, that is extremely unlikely based on the guidance of federal and local public health authorities. 

“Our goal remains to play as many games as possible, and while we currently have enough dates to play the entire season, we recognise at this time that it may become difficult to do so. 

“We continue to learn more every day from the medical experts, and we expect to have additional details in the coming weeks regarding when we can return to play.

“As we have throughout this process, we will update our fans with every decision, and we thank them for their support and understanding during this extremely challenging time,” the statement concluded.