Football Fans Happy as La Liga Training Will Resume in Spain Under Strict Rules

LA LIGA fans will be happy with the news that football training will resume in Spain under strict rules laid down by the government, but no exact date has been announced.

The news comes just over a week after Real Sociedad were told to scrap plans for their squad to pick up their training sessions.

Authorities have done a provisional deal with the Spanish FA (RFEF) and La Liga for teams to get back together, subject to the coronavirus pandemic easing and so long as the guidelines recommended by the Health Ministry are followed.

Training sessions will be held if they follow strict protocols, and only for as long as the current situation permits, according to the government’s National Sports Council (CSD).

The CSD crucially did not specify when training would resume, let alone when matches will be played again.

The government has also forced football’s hand to give money from lucrative TV rights to create a fund to help Spanish sportsmen and women who have been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The RFEF President Luis Rubiales and his La Liga counterpart Javier Tebas agreed to to set up a €10 million fund to help athletes through the crisis, in a meeting with CSD chief, Irene Lozano.

Reports say that discussions took place for eight hours, with the RFEF and La Liga also giving the go-ahead to a new code of conduct over their working relationship.

The two organisations have been involved in a running battle in recent years over the timing of La Liga fixtures being played, and the RFEF stopping plans for a La Liga match to be played in America every season.

The RFEF also courted controversy with the league over their new format for the Spanish Supercup competition.

As opposed to being a pre-season affair, it was staged as a four-team tournament in Saudi Arabia last January, which brought millions of euros into the RFEF coffers, but little interest from the clubs and their supporters.

The CSD said that it hoped the new code of conduct would be a blueprint for other sporting organisations to adopt, and would “lead to a good relationship between the different footballing organisations,” as well as encouraging “frank and honest exchanges of opinion.”