Euro 2020 Among Latest Coronavirus Postponements

(ATR) The European Football Championship scheduled for June 12 to July 12 has been postponed for 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

UEFA, European football’s governing body, announced the decision on Tuesday after a conference call involving all its 55 member associations, the European Club Association board, and the board of the European leagues.

The hope is that by moving Euro 2020 to June 11 to July 11, 2021, there will be enough time to complete the current club seasons for both European and domestic league competitions.

All Euro 2020 playoff matches that were scheduled for the end of March have tentatively been moved to the beginning of June.

UEFA says decisions on dates for other UEFA competitions like the Champions League and Europa League will be taken and announced in due course.

"Moving EURO 2020 comes at a huge cost for UEFA but we will do our best to ensure that the vital funding for grassroots, women’s football and the development of the game in our 55 countries is not affected," UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement.

"Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole."

It seems likely that events already scheduled for June and July of next year will be moved to accommodate the new dates for Euro 2020.

CONMEBOL, the governing body for South American football, followed suit almost immediately, moving Copa America 2020 to next year. It will now also be held from June 11 to July 11, 2021.

French Open Moving to the Fall

The French Tennis Federation on Tuesday announced that the French Open will be delayed four months.

The second major of the tennis year was supposed to run from May 24 to June 7. Now the main draw of the competition will start on September 20 and end on October 4.

The federation said in a statement "the current confinement measures have made it impossible for us to continue with our preparations and, as a result, we are unable to hold the tournament on the dates originally planned".

We are acting responsibly, and must work together in the fight to ensure everybody’s health and safety," Bernard Giudicelli, President of the FFT said.

Diamond League Meets Postponed

The first three meetings of the 2020 Wanda Diamond League season have been postponed with only one of them rescheduled.

The third event on the calendar, due to be held in Shanghai on May 16, has been moved back to August 13. The season opener in Doha, Qatar on April 17 and the second meet scheduled in China for May 9 do not yet have new dates.

The Wanda Diamond League said that the two events could be held after the season finale in Zurich, which takes place from September 9-11, "should the global situation allow".

ASOIF Postpones General Assembly

The annual gathering of all ASOIF member federations has been pushed back to November.

The general assembly was scheduled to be held on April 21 during the SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit 2020 in Lausanne. SportAccord was cancelled on Saturday after the Canton of Vaud, where Lausanne is located, imposed a ban on events of more than 50 people until at least April 30.

Since the ASOIF general assembly would number more than 100 people, it was agreed to postpone it.

"In solidarity with all efforts to restrict the spread of the virus we should do everything possible to reschedule such meetings until later in the year. Everyone’s health is most important now," ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said in a statement.

The event is now likely to be held in conjunction with the IF Forum, scheduled for November 4-6 in Lausanne and organized by SportAccord. ASOIF says it is in contact with all relevant stakeholders to organize a coordinated set of meetings and save unnecessary travel and hotel costs for the participants.

Kentucky Derby Moves to September

The 146th Kentucky Derby will be the first not to take place in the spring at Churchill Downs.

Traditionally run on the first Saturday in May, this year’s race will be moved from May 2 to September 5, pending final approval by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission expected later this week.

This year’s delay is only the second time in history that the race has been moved. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Derby was delayed until June 9 in 1945 after the U.S. government banned horse racing due to World War II.

It is considered likely the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, the other two races in the Triple Crown, will also be rescheduled for after the Kentucky Derby.

Beginning on Wednesday, all horse racing in Great Britain will be put on hold until the end of April.

It was the only remaining major sport to be continuing in the country amid the coronavirus outbreak. Two race meetings were being held on Tuesday without spectators.

Coronavirus News on Around the Rings

Written by Gerard Farek

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