2020-21 Serie A season to kick off on September 19
Rome: Italian Serie A has set the dates for the 2020-21 season on Monday, as the new season will raise the curtain on September 19, ending on May 23, 2021.Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019-20 season concluded last Sunday as Juventus won the ninth consecutive Scudetto while Inter Milan finished second.”The Lega Council met today and unanimously resolved that Serie A TIM 2020-21 will start on the weekend of September 19,” read a statement from Lega Serie A. (Xinhua)
Colombian football eyes Sept return
Bogota: Colombian football is poised to restart in September, six months after it was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, President Ivan Duque said on Monday.Clubs returned to training in July in the hope of resuming competitions in August. However, a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the South American country has prompted officials to put those plans on hold.”The important thing is to try to have a reactivation in the month of September,” Duque told Blu Radio. “We have seen promising signs following the restart of training with no [cases within clubs]. I think that by ensuring regular testing and monitoring, we can resume.”Duque also raised the prospect of staging all first division matches in one city in an effort to reduce the risk of contagion among players, fans and officials.”It is something that will have to be discussed in the coming days with the clubs,” he added.Colombia has the world’s 10th highest number of coronavirus infections with more than 327,000 confirmed cases. Over 11,000 people have died from the virus in the Andean nation, according to health ministry figures published late Monday.(Xinhua)
Marquez ruled out of Czech GP
Barcelona: Reigning World MotoGP champion Marc Marquez will miss Sunday’s Czech Grand Prix after having a second operation on a broken arm, his Repsol Honda Team confirmed on Tuesday. Test rider Stefan Bradl will replace him for the race.”After a heroic return just four days after surgery in Jerez, Marc Marquez will miss the Brno race with Stefan Bradl joining the Repsol Honda Team alongside Alex Marquez,” the Repsol Honda Team said in a statement on their official website.”After undergoing a second operation on his injured right arm, Marc Marquez and HRC have decided that the World Champion will not ride in the Czech Republic in order for him to recover more and get fit before crucial race,” the statement added. (IANS)