National press reporting June date for Premier League ‘Project Restart’

The national press has been reporting this week that the Premier League is hoping to return to action on June 8 behind closed doors.

England’s top-flight has been suspended since the middle of March as the United Kingdom’s coronavirus (COVID-19) situation worsened.

However, plans to complete the 2019/20 season, labelled ‘Project Restart’, have reportedly been stepped up in the last few days.

The BBC reported earlier this week that the league is “hopeful” of achieving a restart by June 8, to fit in with UEFA’s European competition plans.

This would involve the Premier League season coming to a conclusion in July.

It is reported that, in order for the league to hit their target of a June 8 restart, first-teams will have to be back in full training by May 18.

As things stand, a number of Premier League clubs have managed to get some players into training in the last few days, although they are still social distancing within that.

Therefore, it must be said that the progress of ‘Project Restart’ does rely on a few factors, especially the deadline for getting clubs back into full training.

Premier League club executives are set to link-up for important video conference calls in the coming weeks and they will need to come to a consensus before the restart can be booked into the diary with more than just a pencil.

Furthermore, whether or not the top-flight can resume may well depend on what the British government have to say about the state of lockdown in the country.

However, it was reported that Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden had already been in contact with clubs to discuss a restart “as soon as possible”.

“I personally have been in talks with the Premier League with a view to getting football up and running as soon as possible in order to support the whole football community. But, of course, any such moves would have to be consistent with public health guidance.” – Oliver Dowden, speaking at a parliamentary questions session for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

As ever, it will be a case of ‘wait and see’ over whether or not ‘Project Restart’ will come to fruition in the form it has been reported by the press this week.