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The Sky Bet Championship is set for a June 20 resumption after the English Football League agreed on a provisional return date.<\/p>\nThe Sky Bet Championship is set for a June 20 resumption after the English Football League agreed on a provisional return date.<\/p>\n
The Premier League announced on Thursday that play is due to return on June 17 following the coronavirus suspension that began in mid-March.<\/p>\n
The EFL followed suit on Sunday evening, announcing that the Championship is set to restart around the same time.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the EFL said: \u201cFollowing Saturday\u2019s announcement by the Government to allow elite sporting events to return behind closed doors, the EFL has this weekend agreed to a provisional restart date of the weekend of 20 June 2020 for matches in the Sky Bet Championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe date is subject to the strict proviso that all safety requirements and Government guidance is met; and that clubs receive clearance from their local authorities in order to stage matches at their home grounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter discussing various approaches, and, the importance of completing the season in a similar timeline to that of the Premier League to avoid any potential issues with promoted and relegated clubs, the Sky Bet Championship season is set to conclude with the Championship play-off final on or around 30 July 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinal details are still to be confirmed following further discussions with the League\u2019s Broadcast partner, Sky Sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EFL also revealed that it will consider the use of five substitutes in the remaining fixtures and increasing the matchday squad from 18 to 20 players, with discussions \u201cto continue with Championship clubs in this respect\u201d.<\/p>\n
The schedule, broadcast selection and streaming availability will follow, with EFL chair Rick Parry pleased to be able to welcome back the Championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Sky Bet Championship clubs set to return to full contact training later this week and following Saturday\u2019s Government announcement, we are edging closer towards resuming the 2019\/20 EFL season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have therefore today consulted with the board\u2019s Championship directors and agreed to fixtures restarting behind closed doors on 20 June.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst matches will unfortunately have to take place without supporters, we are working with our broadcast partners, EFL Championship clubs and all relevant stakeholders to broadcast the remaining 108 games plus Sky Bet Championship play-offs either live on Sky Sports, iFollow or a club\u2019s equivalent streaming service.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must stress that at this stage the date is only provisional and will only be confirmed once we have met all the requirements, as the health, safety and well-being of all participants, staff and supporters remains our top priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly completing the season in a safe manner is going to require a significant effort by all concerned and, whilst not unprecedented, it will need clubs to play a significant number of matches over a relatively short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n