Nigeria’s array of players in the Spanish LaLiga are now looking up to May 4 as the date they will be able to return to action, following the suspension of the season due to coronavirus, as the country’s government has given all sports the go-ahead to resume team activities, megasportsarena.com reports.
The duo of Kenneth Omeruo and Chidozie Awaziem at Leganes as well as Samuel Chukwueze at Villarreal will now mark May 4 on their respective calendars, as that is the date set aside for the resumption of active sports in The Land of The Armada, where the authorities have launched plans to get out of lockdown.
Omeruo, Awaziem, Chukwueze and other players in LaLiga will further note that the allowance of individual training sessions is part of Phase Zero, or the Preparatory Stage, of the schedule in the resumption time table that was announced by the country’s president Pedro Sanchez, while full training sessions at club centres will be allowed in Phase 1, which gets underway on May 11.
This is in contrast with the developments in Holland and France, where the season’s contests have been cancelled all together, but Omeruo, Awaziem, Chukwueze and all others can remain optimistic of a return to action at the end of May, through the schedule further pointed out that there will remain added measures in place to avoid a second peak of the virus.
To make the plan work, La Liga has already sent clubs a detailed set of protocols to follow once training is allowed, including a preparation phase followed by individual practices, smaller group sessions and finally full squad sessions, and the league’s president, Javier Tebas has thrown his support fully behind a controlled return to action.
Tebas said in a statement: “I do not understand why there would more danger in playing football behind closed doors, with all precautionary measures, than working on an assembly line, being on a fishing boat on the high seas.
“If important economic sectors cannot restart, in a safe and controlled manner, they could end up disappearing. That could happen to professional football. In other countries teams are already training, that’s the example to follow.
“In Spain, football is an important economic driver that we need to reactivate like many others. We continue to focus on this reactivation, in a responsible manner and adhering to health recommendations, as soon as possible.”
