The English Premier League could return from its coronavirus-caused shutdown as early as next month after the United Kingdom’s government said Monday that it would allow the world’s most-watched sports circuit to resume playing games in empty stadiums beginning June 1.
U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson made the announcement as part of the country’s so-called “road map” to reopening. Those guidelines permit “cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed-doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact” from that date forward.
While several of Europe’s other top leagues, including France’s Ligue 1 and the Dutch Eredivisie, have cancelled the reminder of their 2019-20 campaigns, the Premier League has long held out hope that it would be able to complete its remaining schedule over the summer.