Bundesliga ready to return on May 9 - if German government approves

Germany's Bundesliga would be the first league in Europe to resume during the coronavirus pandemic

The Bundesliga is ready to return on May 9 if the German government gives it the green light, league officials have confirmed.

The league has been suspended since mid-March due to the outbreak of coronavirus, which has infected more than 148,000 and killed over 5,000 people in Germany.

Its resumption, behind closed doors, remains dependent on government and all federal states' approval, and Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert warned providing an exact date "would be presumptuous and is not in our hands".

"If we should start on May 9, we are ready. If it is later we will be ready again," Seifert said.

"We can only offer the framework conditions."

Stadiums like the Allianz Arena will remain closed to fans

Finishing the 2019/20 season remains the priority in German football, with Seifert insisting failing to do so would mean "the Bundesliga would be a collateral damage to the coronavirus crisis".

A maximum of 300 people can be involved at the stadium on match day, according to Sky in Germany.

The Bundesliga is collaborating with five different laboratories to ensure adequate testing for coronavirus.

Players will be tested at least once a week, which would require around 20,000 tests for this season.

Bundesliga players returned to training earlier this month

The 7.5 million euro solidarity fund donated by Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen will go to the third division and women's Bundesliga.

Regional leaders in Bavaria and North-Rhine Westphalia said this week it was possible for the league to resume without spectators after May 9 and under strict health and safety conditions.

The league has warned that many clubs in the first and second divisions faced an uncertain financial future and several would be in an "existence-threatening" situation if play did not resume by June.

Some German shops opened for business again this week, after a month of lockdown, in an agreement with the leaders of Germany's 16 states.

The state of play in England

June 8 has emerged as the best-case scenario for when the Premier League season could restart.

Premier League clubs remain keen to finish the season, but the proposal of completing the campaign by June 30 was not raised in their latest meeting on Friday, April 17.

All top-flight clubs were represented on the video call, with the focus on different models for completing the season.

Clubs were shown different models for games restarting and being played in June, July and August, but the Premier League reiterated that the season will not resume until the government declares it is safe to do so.

The EFL remains determined to finish this season on the pitch for as long as they "humanly can", according to Rick Parry.

The chairman of the English Football League appeared on The Football Show on Friday morning to discuss a wide range of challenges currently facing their leagues, having published an open letter to supporters where he said "the virus will decide when we can start playing again".

National League clubs this week voted in favour of ending the 2019/20 at its current point and cancelling all remaining fixtures.