By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Ergin Ataman talked about EuroLeague’s thoughts on resuming the 2019-20 season in his recent interview with A Spor, stating that the competition is working on its plan to do so in July or August.
“I think that the EuroLeague will wait until the end of May and there is a thought to play in July, August. There are teams of 10 different countries in the competition, each country will have its own policies. I don’t think borders will open soon. Everyone will want to protect themselves. I don’t think the playoffs are likely to happen. Resuming action in July in one of the countries with the least coronavirus cases in Europe is being discussed. When you look at Greece, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, you see that the cases are very few and could be even less towards the end of May”, he commented.
The Efes coach addressed how the competition plans to resume action during summer. “With special flight permits, so teams can reach the city safely. All teams will be quarantined in one or two hotels, games will be held without spectators, but broadcasted to the world”.
“Sports will play a very important role in this process. People are tired of watching movies, TV series and old games. I think there might be such a scenario to be able to relive the excitement. If such a scenario occurs, clubs should be informed 3 or 4 weeks in advance and preparations should be made. It is also a problem how American players can return to their teams, but all this is something that big organizations can overcome. I think EuroLeague will follow UEFA’s decisions in football”.