The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the worldwide sporting calendar.
The Football Association, the Premier League, the English Football League, FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship have all called a halt to the action.
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Meanwhile, England’s cricket team cut short their tour of Sri Lanka, while the year’s first golf major, the Masters, and tennis’ French Open have been postponed.
Horse racing’s flagship race, the Grand National, and the London Marathon have also been called off for now.
Here’s how all sports have been impacted…
Football
– The Premier League, EFL and Football Association announced that professional football in England would not resume until mid-May at the earliest, but the season would be extended indefinitely.
– The Premier League say it will only resume when ‘it is safe and appropriate to do so’.
– UEFA postponed Euro 2020 until the summer of 2021, with new dates of June 11 to July 11 next year proposed. The official announcement from European football’s governing body also confirmed that the Euro 2020 play-offs, due to be played later this month, will now take place in the June 2020 international break.
– All Champions League and Europa League matches have been suspended ‘until further notice’.
– Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has warned that this season’s Champions League and Europa League will be abandoned if restrictions remain until September.
– The three divisions of England’s National League have been suspended indefinitely.
– The 2021 Nations League finals, UEFA Under-21 European Championship and the Women’s Euro 2021 were also postponed.
– The 2020 Copa America is to move to 2021 to give South American players based in Europe the opportunity to finish their league campaigns.
– All Scottish football was suspended with immediate effect, with the Scottish Football Association confirming it will not resume until April 30 at the earliest.
– The Irish Football Association suspended the current season in Northern Ireland until at least April 4. The Football Association of Ireland announced all football activity under its jurisdiction was suspended until March 29.
– England’s two friendlies in March at Wembley against Italy and Denmark were cancelled, and were followed by the friendlies with Austria and Romania in June. Wales’ international matches with Austria and the United States at the end of March were also called off.
– The Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship were also postponed by the FA.
– FIFA relaxed rules on clubs having to release players for forthcoming international fixtures and also recommended that “all international matches previously scheduled to take place in March and April should now be postponed until such time that they can take place in a safe and secure environment”.
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– Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for coronavirus.
– Everton’s entire first-team squad and coaching staff undertook a period of self-isolation after a first-team player reported symptoms consistent with coronavirus while three Leicester players showed symptoms and were kept away from the rest of the squad.
– Bournemouth announced five of their employees, including goalkeeper Artur Boruc, were self-isolating having displayed symptoms consistent with the virus.
– Juventus duo Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi tested positive, as did Fiorentina striker Patrick Cutrone, on loan from Wolves, and team-mate German Pezzella and club physio Stefano Danielli.
– Ezequiel Garay became the first LaLiga player to announce that he had tested positive for coronavirus, with Valencia later confirming five positive tests among players and staff.
– Real Madrid players were told to go into quarantine after a member of the club’s basketball team tested positive. LaLiga suspended “at least the next two rounds of matches” as a result of the quarantine in place at Real.
– Barcelona suspended all first-team activity after taking advice from their medical staff.
– All domestic sporting action in Italy – including Serie A matches – was suspended until April 3.
– Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, the top two divisions in France, were suspended until further notice.
– The German Football League suspended games in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga until at least April 3, with a review to be undertaken on March 30.
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– All football in Spain, including La Liga, has been put on hold indefinitely.
– Major League Soccer announced the suspension of matches with no set date for the competition to restart.
– The South American (CONMEBOL) World Cup qualifiers scheduled for March 23-31 were postponed to a later date.
– The Northern Premier League announced all fixtures were suspended until further notice.
– The Scottish Professional Football League postponed all games ‘pending any Government order and/or further direction from the Scottish FA’.
– The Football Association announced it was “advising that all grassroots football in England is postponed for the foreseeable future”.
– The Professional Footballers’ Association announced it had postponed this year’s awards ceremony, which had been due to take place on April 26.
– The final Hillsborough memorial service, which was due to take place at Anfield on April 15, was postponed.
– CONMEBOL confirmed that the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana would be suspended until at least May 5.
– Major League Soccer announced an extension to its postponement of matches, confirming a target date of May 10 for a return to action.
– Rotherham boss Paul Warne confirmed two of his players – Freddie Ladapo and Lewis Price – are self-isolating after contracting symptoms.
– The Turkish Football Federation announced it was suspending all football activities until further notice.
– Four Portsmouth players – James Bolton, Andy Cannon, Haji Mnoga and Sean Raggett – tested positive for coronavirus.
Rugby Union
– The RFU has ended the season for all league, cup and county rugby in England, with the Premiership – which was in a five-week suspension – the only exception.
– The Guinness PRO14 was suspended indefinitely.
– The Super Rugby season was suspended after the decision of the New Zealand government to quarantine people entering the country for 14 days.
– Rugby Australia closed its Sydney headquarters for an “intensive clean” after two members of its Australian Sevens program showed signs and symptoms associated with coronavirus.
– South Africa Rugby suspended all competitive matches until April 25 at the earliest and calls off all national team training camps and business travel.
– The Champions Cup and Challenge Cup semi-finals and finals have been postponed from their scheduled May 22-23 dates. European rugby chiefs are committed to completing both campaigns this season.
– The Welsh Rugby Union has cancelled all league and cups this season. There will be no promotion or relegation in any WRU league and all teams will remain in their current division.
Olympics and Paralympics
– The International Olympic Committee has agreed to delay the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games for a year due to coronavirus. A statement read: “In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.”
– The British Olympic Association said it will not “endanger the health” of athletes by encouraging them to prepare for Tokyo 2020 if it is not safe to do so.
– The Greek leg of the Olympic Torch Relay was cancelled the day after the first flame-lighting ceremony since 1984 to take place without spectators.
– The Olympic boxing qualifier in London was cancelled having initially moved the tournament behind closed doors.
– The Artistic Gymnastics All-Around World Cup event scheduled to take place in Tokyo next month has been cancelled. The competition had been due to serve as an Olympic test event.
Golf
– The Masters at Augusta, traditionally regarded as the sport’s blue riband event, became the first golf major to be postponed. The US PGA was postponed to a date later in the summer.
– The Players Championship was cancelled along with all PGA Tour events for the next three weeks. The PGA also cancelled four other events in April and May – the RBC Heritage, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Wells Fargo Championship and the AT&T Byron Nelson.
– Six European Tour tournaments were postponed. The Kenya Open has been joined by April’s Hero Indian Open, Maybank Championship and China Open. The Andalucia Masters, from April 30-May 3, was also postponed along with August’s Czech Masters.
– The Irish Open, scheduled for May 28-31, has also been postponed.
– The Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International was postponed with a view to it being rescheduled later in the year.
– Africa’s Sunshine Tour suspended all activities and will review the situation on April 20 “or as the situation demands”.
– The entire PGA EuroPro Tour schedule, due to run from May to October and covering 15 events in total, has been cancelled.
– The USGA cancelled first stage qualifying for the US Open and US Women’s Open.
– The European Tour cancelled the GolfSixes Cascais event, with the Made in Denmark tournament postponed. European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said: “We will continue to monitor this global situation in relation to Coronavirus and evaluate its impact on all our tournaments, with public health and well-being our absolute priority.”
– The R&A says it is undertaking a “comprehensive evaluation” of its plans to stage The Open Championship and AIG Women’s British Open.
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Cricket
– The ECB announced there will be no professional cricket played in England and Wales until May 28.
– England’s Test series against Sri Lanka was postponed with the touring players returning home.
– The start of the Indian Premier League was postponed from March 29 to April 15 as a precautionary measure.
– The annual Champion County match, regarded as the curtain-raiser to the domestic season, due to be played between the MCC and Essex between March 24-27 at Galle was called off, as was the MCC World Cricket Committee meeting in Colombo scheduled for March 28 and 29.
– Surrey, Lancashire, Worcestershire, Hampshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Yorkshire, Somerset, Sussex, Derbyshire, Durham and Warwickshire cancelled or decided to return early from pre-season trips.
– The final two one-day internationals between India and South Africa will be rescheduled following an agreement between the countries’ governing bodies, while the remaining two ODIs between Australia and New Zealand were called off.
– Australia Women’s limited-overs tour of South Africa, consisting of three ODIs and as many T20s and due to start on March 22, will not take place.
– New Zealand Cricket cancelled the last two rounds of its domestic first-class competition after taking advice from medical experts. Wellington Firebirds, who finished the truncated season 26 points ahead of Central Stags, were awarded the 2019-20 Plunket Shield.
– Pakistan announced the third leg of Bangladesh’s visit, comprising of one Test and a one-day international, next month will be put back to a later date.
– Cricket South Africa cancelled all forms of cricket for the next 60 days.
– Ireland’s limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe next month was postponed.
– The seven-match series between Ireland and Bangladesh was postponed.
– Surrey sent six players home from training to self-isolate. Not all six reported symptoms but had been in close proximity to others who had.
– The Pakistan Super League announced on March 17 – the day the semi-finals were due to take place – that the competition had been postponed.
– England opener Alex Hales revealed he is in self-isolation after developing coronavirus symptoms.
– The England and Wales Cricket Board recommended all forms of recreational cricket be suspended.
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Boxing
– Anthony Joshua’s world title fight against Kubrat Pulev has been postponed. It was set to take place in London on June 20.
– The British Boxing Board of Control has suspended all events until the end of May.
– Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin has been moved to July 4.
– Top Rank announced the postponement of its shows at Madison Square Garden on March 14 and 17. Belfast featherweight Michael Conlan’s bout against Colombian fighter Belmar Preciado at the Hulu Theater on St Patrick’s Day was therefore scrapped.
– All events scheduled for March in Japan were cancelled.
– Shakur Stevenson vs Miguel Marriaga and James Kirkland vs Marcos Hernandez (March 14) were postponed.
– London-based Olympic qualifiers were postponed until later this year.
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MMA
– UFC president Dana White has said the next three Fight Nights are postponed, including UFC London (due to take place on March 21).
– UFC Fight Night 170 was held in Brazil behind closed doors.
– Bellator 241 event – slated to take place in Connecticut – was scrapped.
Motorsport
– The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was called off along with the Monaco GP, while the races in Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Spain and the Netherlands have been postponed.
– The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, due to take place on 7 June, has become the eighth race to be postponed.
– Formula One’s governing body approved a revised shutdown period – which had been reserved for August – to enable the possibility for racing throughout the summer. Team factories will be ordered to close for three consecutive weeks at an elected time between now and the end of April.
– Formula E temporarily suspended its season.
– Nascar postponed its race events in Atlanta (March 15) and Miami (March 22). All races were postponed until May 3.
– The Le Mans 24 hour race in June was postponed, with a provisional new date of September.
Motorcycling
– The opening four races of the MotoGP season in Qatar, Thailand, the United States and now Argentina were called off. The Qatar race was cancelled, while the other three have been moved to later in the season, which is now due to get under way in Spain on May 3.
– The opening three rounds of the British Superbike Championship – at Silverstone, Oulton Park and Donington Park – have been postponed.
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Basketball
– The NBA season was suspended “until further notice” after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus.
– The Brooklyn Nets placed their entire extended staff under self-isolation after four players, including Kevin Durant, were diagnosed with Covid-19.
– Basketball England cancelled the remainder of its 2019/2020 season on March 17.
American football
– Public events around the NFL Draft were cancelled, with the league saying it is working on a new format for the event which takes place in April.
– New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton confirmed he has tested positive – the first case reported associated with the NFL.
Tennis
– Wimbledon, which was due to be held from 29 June to 12 July, has been cancelled for the first time since World War Two.
– The high-profile BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, where the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were due to compete, was called off.
– The Miami Open tennis tournament, due to start on March 23, was cancelled after a ban on mass gatherings in Miami-Dade County.
– The Volvo Car Open in Charleston (April 4-12) was also called off. Next month’s Fed Cup finals in Budapest and Fed Cup play-offs, due to be held in eight different locations, were postponed, while China’s Xi’an Open (April 13-19) and Kunming Open (April 27-May 3) were cancelled.
– The French Open moved from its scheduled spring slot to September.
– The ATP and WTA announced the tennis season was suspended until June 7.
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Racing
– Racing in Ireland was closed to the public until April 19.
– The British Horseracing Authority initially confirmed all meetings would be staged behind closed doors, but then announced that all racing in Britain would be suspended until the end of April. Racing in France was suspended until April 15.
– The Grand National, due to take place on April 4, was cancelled.
– The Dubai World Cup, known as the world’s richest horse race, has been postponed.
Athletics
– The London Marathon has been postponed until Sunday, October 4. The 40th edition of the historic race was originally scheduled to take place on April 26.
– The Manchester Marathon, due to take place on April 5 with 26,000 runners, was postponed, with a new date to be set in due course.
– The Paris Marathon, which was due to take place on April 5, was postponed until October 18 and the Rome Marathon, scheduled for March 29, as well as the Boston Marathon, slated for April 20, were cancelled.
– The World Indoor Championships, which had been due to take place in Nanjing in China this month, were rearranged for March 2021.
– The first three Diamond League meetings of the season – scheduled for April 17, in Qatar, and May 9 and 16, in China – have been postponed, likely until after the Olympics.
– All athletics activity within the UK, including competitions and leagues, member clubs, running groups and races, was suspended until the end of April, the Home Country Athletics Federations announced on March 17 in cooperation with UK Athletics.
– All parkrun events in the UK were suspended until the end of March.
Rugby League
– The Super League match between Catalans Dragons and Leeds in Perpignan was postponed after one of the Rhinos’ players was put into self-isolation after showing symptoms of coronavirus. The club announced on March 17 that eight members of the club’s first-team squad and backroom staff had gone into self-isolation.
– The Coral Challenge Cup fixture between York City Knights and Rochdale Hornets was switched to the Millennium Stadium in Featherstone after York City cancelled the availability of Bootham Crescent.
– Canadian club Toronto Wolfpack stood down their entire UK-based playing staff after four players presented with “mild possible” coronavirus symptoms and were put into self-isolation.
– Dewsbury Rams announced their Betfred Championship match against Toulouse was postponed.
– All rugby league fixtures, from the Betfred Super League to “the community game”, were suspended until at least April 3.
– England coach Shaun Wane’s first get-together with his new squad, set for Old Trafford on March 23, was postponed.
– The Oceania Cup matches scheduled for June 20 between the Kiwis and the Tonga Invitational XIII, as well as Samoa’s clash with the Cook Islands, were postponed.
Cycling
– The Giro d’Italia, cycling’s first Grand Tour of the season which was due to start on May 9 in Budapest, was postponed. The Strade Bianchi, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo and the Giro di Sicilia races in Italy have been called off.
– Fears of two cases of coronavirus at the UAE Tour saw the race cancelled with two stages left.
– Team INEOS were among a host of teams who withdrew from all racing until the Volta a Catalunya on March 23.
– Cycling’s Women’s Tour, the UK’s WorldTour stage race, was postponed almost three months before it was scheduled to begin in Oxfordshire on June 8.
– The UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) announced the suspension of its calendar until at least April 3.
– The Tour De Romandie – scheduled to take place from April 27 to May 3 – was cancelled outright.
– Three more major events – the Paris-Roubaix, the Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege – were postponed on March 17.
– The Tour de Yorkshire, set to be staged on April 30-May 3, was also postponed.
– British Cycling suspended all sanctioned activities until at least April 30.
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Snooker
– The World Snooker Championship at the Crucible between April 18 and May 4 has been postponed.
– The Betfred World Snooker Championship was postponed, with the World Snooker Tour saying in a statement it intends to host the tournament at the Crucible in July or August.
– The £1million China Open, scheduled to start in Beijing at the end of March, was cancelled. The Gibraltar Open was played behind closed doors, with some players forced to referee their own games.
– The Coral Tour Championship in Llandudno was postponed as a precaution against the spread of the virus.
Swimming/Diving
– British Swimming confirmed that the Diving World Series event scheduled for London later this month was cancelled.
– The British Swimming Championships and the British Para-Swimming International Meet – both scheduled for April – were cancelled.
Ice skating
– The World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, scheduled for March 13-15, were called off. The World Figure Skating Championships in Quebec, planned for March 16-22, were also cancelled.
Judo
– The International Judo Federation has cancelled all Olympic qualification events on the calendar until April 30.
Darts
– All five Premier League events in April have been postponed.
– The Professional Darts Corporation postponed the Premier League double-header in Rotterdam and night seven in Newcastle, rescheduling for September 9-10 and October 1 respectively.
– The European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen and the European Darts Open in Leverkusen, which were all scheduled for later this month, plus next month’s German Darts Grand Prix in Munich were postponed.
– The Players Championship double-headers, European Tour qualifiers and the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour events planned for April were all postponed, with the PDC saying that rescheduled dates for those events will be confirmed in due course.
Ice hockey
– The NHL has been paused with 189 games regular-season remaining. The Stanley Cup play-offs were due to start the week of April 6.
– Great Britain’s two fixtures against Hungary on April 21 and 22 have been cancelled.
Netball
– Netball Superleague season is suspended until further notice.
Rowing
– The Boat Race, scheduled to take place on March 29, was cancelled.
– The Henley Royal Regatta being held from July 1 to July 5 was cancelled.
Baseball
– Major League Baseball announced the start of the 2020 season would be delayed for eight weeks.
– Major League Baseball has cancelled the London Series games between the St Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs at the London Stadium on June 13-14.
Source: TalkSport.com Motorsport
