Major League Soccer is "extremely unlikely" to resume play in mid-May, as had been previously targeted, the league said in a statement released Tuesday. League play has been suspended since March 12 due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 19, MLS stated that it was extending its suspension for eight weeks, in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), setting a target return date of May 10. But the ongoing situation has now meant that date being revised. Separately, a training moratorium has been put in place for all clubs through April 24.
Major League Soccer has issued the following statement:
NEW YORK (April 14, 2020) - Major League Soccer continues to regularly evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including how it will affect our plans for the 2020 season. Although we hoped to return to play in mid-May, that is extremely unlikely based on the guidance of federal and local public health authorities. Our goal remains to play as many games as possible, and while we currently have enough dates to play the entire season, we recognize at this time that it may become difficult to do so. We continue to learn more every day from the medical experts, and we expect to have additional details in the coming weeks regarding when we can return to play. As we have throughout this process, we will update our fans with every decision, and we thank them for their support and understanding during this extremely challenging time.
Declaración de Major League Soccer
NUEVA YORK – Major League Soccer continúa evaluando regularmente el impacto de la pandemia COVID-19, incluyendo cómo afectará nuestros planes para la temporada 2020. Aunque esperábamos volver a jugar a mediados de mayo, será extremadamente improbable en base a la orientación de las autoridades de salud pública federales y locales. Nuestro objetivo sigue siendo jugar tantos partidos como sea posible, y aunque actualmente tenemos suficientes fechas para jugar toda la temporada, reconocemos en este momento que puede ser difÃcil hacerlo. Continuamos aprendiendo más cada dÃa de los médicos expertos, y esperamos tener más detalles en las próximas semanas con respecto a cuándo podremos volver a jugar. Como lo hemos hecho a lo largo de este proceso, actualizaremos a nuestros aficionados sobre cada decisión, y les agradecemos su apoyo y comprensión durante este extremadamente difÃcil momento.
