The Latest: London mayor says too early to resume soccer
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he believes it is too early for the Premier League to be planning a resumption of the season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and West Ham all play in the capital.
The mayor’s office says the league should resume only “when it is safe to do so.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that sports events in the country could resume in June if there is not a new spike in COVID-19 infections.
Liverpool led the league by 25 points with nine games remaining when the league was suspended in March.
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FIFA has rescheduled two women’s events for next year and will hold its 2020 annual meeting online.
FIFA says the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica and Panama will start on Jan. 20 and the Under-17 Women’s World Cup will be in India from Feb. 17.
Both 2020 tournaments were postponed in April because of the coronavirus pandemic.
FIFA says both tournaments will retain their eligibility rules. The same players can be selected even if they have a birthday early in 2021.
The FIFA Congress was due to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Sept. 18 but will now be an online event.
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German soccer clubs will decide whether to adopt a rule change to increase the number of substitutions when they meet by video conference on Thursday.
The International Football Association Board agreed last week to let teams use two extra substitutes per match in 2020. That should help leagues clear a backlog of games created by the coronavirus pandemic.
Leagues can choose whether or not to adopt the rule change.
The German league is scheduled to restart on Saturday.
The German league also says it will stop publishing centralized statistics for its coronavirus testing program and will leave that up to the clubs.
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The Danish soccer league will resume on May 28 with games in empty stadiums.
The league has been suspended since March 9 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The first game will be between AGF and Randers to complete the 24th round. The 25th round will start on May 29.
All games in the 26th and final round will be held on June 7. The playoffs will follow with the season scheduled to end on July 29.
The league says games will take place at various times during the daytime and evening “so that as many matches as possible are made available to football fans” while stadiums are closed.
FC Midtjylland leads FC Copenhagen by 12 points at the top of the standings.
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The Diamond League event in London is the latest track meet to be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The meet had been scheduled for July 4-5 at the Olympic Stadium.
British Athletics says “the decision has been made in light of the ongoing global pandemic.”
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World Cup winner Giuseppe Bergomi says he had COVID-19.
The former Italy defender says that for 20-25 days beginning in early March his back was in so much pain that he couldn’t sit down.
He adds in an Instagram chat that he felt constantly weak.
The 56-year-old Bergomi says he has recovered.
Bergomi played for Inter Milan and is now an analyst for soccer matches on Italy’s Sky TV. He helped Italy to the 1982 World Cup title.
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The qualifying tournament for the 2021 Women’s Cricket World Cup has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bangladesh, Ireland, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United States, the West Indies and Zimbabwe were to play in the tournament in Sri Lanka from July 3-19 and three were to qualify.
The International Cricket Council has not set new dates.
The Women’s World Cup is in New Zealand in February and March.
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