S
SEARCH
M
SM
Tuesday, June 2
Collect News Data

Scotland

/esi/1339/6_A_1_400239_0/index.html?art_id=400239&ESI

Scottish Football Association chief Ian Maxwell confident of August return

:Headline: Scottish Football Association chief Ian Maxwell confident of August return:
Previous predictions from within Scottish football had signalled September or October as a realistic return date but Ian Maxwell is more optimistic.

Scottish Football Association chief executive Ian Maxwell believes the game is likely to return in August.

Some previous predictions from within the Scottish football authorities had signalled September or October as a realistic return date following the coronavirus suspension but Maxwell is more optimistic ahead of a meeting with the Scottish Government on Friday.

A route out of lockdown was published on Thursday which outlined phase two as the beginning of professional sport's return, with phase one set to begin on May 28.

Ian Maxwell is optimistic (PA)

"I think it is likely that we will see football in August," Maxwell told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound. "We are seeing it in countries across Europe.

"I think it is definitely achievable, the plans we are putting in place are comprehensive. We have to make sure we are giving Government comfort that we can do it in a manner that keeps the players, the staff, everybody involved in the game safe, and I'm sure we can do that.

"The information we had from Government was that the NHS was on an emergency footing until June 10 and there would be no relaxation of restrictions until that point.

Celtic were crowned Ladbrokes Premiership champions on Monday after the 2019-20 season was curtailed (SNS Group/PA)

"Obviously they have released their staged plans, phase two talks about a return to professional sport and that ties in with some time round about June 10-18.

"Obviously that is fluid but I think we have to go on the hope and expectation that the numbers we are seeing in terms of the virus will continue to decrease and that gives us the opportunity to plan for then.

"As long as all those elements fall into place, there is no reason why we can't be training then and back playing six weeks after that."

The Scottish Premiership is set to be the first division to kick off and there is no guarantee the others will follow.

Forfar admitted on Friday that it would be very difficult for League One and Two to resume this year, while Championship side Queen of the South described playing games without fans as "financial suicide".

The costs of coronavirus testing have also been deemed prohibitive with some estimates putting the weekly cost to clubs at up to £4,500.

But former Partick Thistle chief executive Maxwell said: "I don't think it would be that. I think we can be creative with that. All things being equal it could be less than half that.

"If I put my Thistle head back on, as soon as someone says a thousand pounds, I think 'that's a good player I can't sign'. Football finances translate into a number of players and that's something clubs are going to have to deal with if they want to get training back and get games back.

"We need to be able to step in and support them as much as we can."

Maxwell revealed the SFA held talks with a supplier of testing machines on Friday along with representatives from other sports.

"There are different ways to do testing," he said. "Down south, I understand the model is they take swabs which are given to one lab to test them all, and the clubs get the results back the next day.

A coronavirus testing machine (PA)

"There is machinery available where you can test players at the training pitch and you can have results back within an hour.

"Testing is going to be important, I don't see any circumstances whereby the Government or more importantly the players sign off on a training regime that didn't include significant and proper level of testing.

"I think it's right that the Scottish FA play a part in making that as affordable as we possibly can for clubs."

Second-tier clubs are set to meet on Monday while Hearts owner Ann Budge is still formulating a reconstruction plan to prevent her club being relegated.

body check tags ::

amp_article_400239 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2020-05-23 16:19:09:
html db last update - 2020-05-31 06:22:09 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Coronavirus outbreak - Click here for more stories

Click here for more stories about Ian Maxwell

Click here for more stories about Scotland

Share this article now:
Show comments

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Read more about Ian Maxwell Football
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29271166214582
2Manchester CityMan City28183768313757
3Leicester CityLeicester29165858283053
4Chelsea29146951391248
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd29129844301445
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29101364134743
7Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd28111073025543
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs29118104740741
9Arsenal2891364036440
10Burnley29116123440-639
11Crystal Palace29109102632-639
12Everton29107123746-937
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2998122541-1635
14Southampton29104153552-1734
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29611123240-829
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2976163550-1527
17Watford2969142744-1727
18Bournemouth2976162947-1827
19Aston Villa2874173456-2225
20Norwich CityNorwich2956182552-2721
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29271166214582
2Manchester CityMan City28183768313757
3Leicester CityLeicester29165858283053
4Chelsea29146951391248
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd29129844301445
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29101364134743
7Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd28111073025543
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs29118104740741
9Arsenal2891364036440
10Burnley29116123440-639
11Crystal Palace29109102632-639
12Everton29107123746-937
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2998122541-1635
14Southampton29104153552-1734
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29611123240-829
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2976163550-1527
17Watford2969142744-1727
18Bournemouth2976162947-1827
19Aston Villa2874173456-2225
20Norwich CityNorwich2956182552-2721
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.