Vincenzo Spadafora, the Italian government minister for sport and youth policies, has confirmed that the hope is for football and other sports in Italy to return in May.
All sporting activity in the country was initially put on hold in the country until tomorrow due to the ongoing global Coronavirus pandemic but the measures have been extended until April 13.
Serie A has been on hold since around the middle of March and it remains a complete mystery as to whether or not the season will even resume given the unprecedented circumstances.
Some clubs, like Lazio, are all for resuming the season but there are a number of clubs who hold the view that the season will not resume.
In a video which he posted to his official Facebook profile, Spadafora firstly explained the importance of the days between now and April 13.
“We have ten important days ahead of which will be complicated and days in which we can see difference. After Easter we will see clearer signs of change.
“This is why all sports competitions at all levels will still be banned for the next 10 days. We must ask our athletes to make a further sacrifice.
“We have also banned all types of training in sporting facilities. It is a sacrifice that serves to protect them and all of us.
“There are still lots of people dying every day and due to this data there is no sacrifice that cannot be done to try and reverse things.
“These are ten important days, after which there will be time to resume training and allow our athletes to compete at their best. This sacrifice is worth doing. We don’t make light-hearted decisions, we do it by listening to the technical and scientific committee and evaluating all the repercussions.”
He also touched upon sport and what is needed for them to resume.
“We are thinking of an extraordinary plan for things to start up again from May as we hope to be able to be out of the Coronavirus emergency and able to think about the future by then. To be able to start again in May though, there must be the necessary resources.”
