Coronavirus: the world of sport at a standstill or behind closed doors - France 24

Paris (AFP)

Champions League, England, Germany and France football championships, Tour of Italy cycling, Formula 1, NBA: the world sports calendar continues to shrink like a panic due to the pandemic of new coronavirus, the few events held being mostly organized behind closed doors.

List of main sporting events canceled, postponed, displaced or threatened:

SOCCER

- Suspended competitions:

. France: Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and Women's League "until further notice".

. English Championship, until April 3 inclusive.

. Italian Championship, until April 3.

. German Championship, no duration specified.

. In Spain, "at least the next two days" of the championship, initially scheduled from March 13 to 22.

. Portuguese Championship "for an indefinite period".

. Netherlands Championship, until the end of March.

. North American Football League (MLS) for 30 days.

. The Copa Libertadores meetings scheduled for March 15-21.

- Matches or competitions postponed:

. In the Champions League, the last 8th return finals, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

. In the Europa League, the Inter-Getafe and Seville-Roma matches in the round of 16 did not take place on Thursday. The 8th return finals, scheduled for next Thursday, are postponed.

. The friendly match between Germany and Italy on March 31 in Nuremberg was canceled by decision of the local authorities.

. Spain: the final of the Real Sociedad - Athletic Bilbao King's Cup scheduled for April 18 (new date to be determined).

. In France, the final of the Paris SG - Lyon League Cup, scheduled for April 4, has been postponed until the end of May. The final of the Coupe de France Paris SG - Saint-Etienne scheduled for April 25 is pending.

. In South America, the start of qualification for the 2022 World Cup has been postponed.

- Uncertain competitions:

. Several friendly matches in preparation for Euro-2020, including France-Ukraine and France-Finland which are to take place behind closed doors on March 27 and 31.

- Threatened competitions

. UEFA Tuesday meeting to decide on the continuation of the Champions League and the holding of Euro-2020.

ATHLETICS

- The Indoor Worlds, scheduled from March 13 to 15 in Nanjing, China, have been postponed to 2021.

. MARATHONS

- The 2020 edition of the Boston Marathon has been postponed from April 20 to September 14.

- The Barcelona marathon, scheduled for March 15, has been postponed to October 25.

- The Paris marathon, scheduled for April 5, has been postponed to October 18.

BADMINTON

- The World Badminton Federation has suspended all of its scheduled tournaments from March 16 to April 12.

BASEBALL

- The start of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season, scheduled for March 26, has been postponed.

BASKETBALL

- The NBA is suspended for "at least" a month, after first positive cases within the Utah Jazz.

- The International Federation (Fiba) and the Euroleague have suspended all European Cups.

- The "March Madness", the final phase of the American university championship, is canceled.

CYCLING

- Italy: the Giro, the first Grand Tour of the year, is postponed. The Strade Bianche (March 7), Milan-Sanremo (March 21) and Tirreno-Adriatico, scheduled between March 11 and 17, have been canceled.

- In France, the 8th and last stage of Paris-Nice, scheduled for Sunday, has been canceled. The race, which started and finished in camera, ended on Saturday.

- The classic Ghent-Wevelgem cyclist, scheduled for March 29 in Belgium, has been postponed indefinitely.

- In Spain, the Tour of Catalonia, scheduled from March 23 to 29, has been postponed.

GOLF

- The Augusta Masters, the first Grand Slam of the year, is postponed. The Players Championship, the fifth golf tournament in terms of prestige, was canceled after its first day, along with three other tournaments on the PGA circuit until April 5. The women's tournaments (LPGA) until this date are postponed, including the first Major of the year, the ANA Inspiration (April 2-5) in California.

HANDBALL

- The French men's handball championship (Starligue) is suspended until April 22. The French women's handball championship is suspended until April 5, as well as all amateur competitions.

- European competitions are suspended until April 12.

- The six Olympic qualification tournaments (TQO), scheduled from March 20 to 22 for women and from April 17 to 19 for men, are postponed to June.

ICE HOCKEY

- The North American Ice Hockey League (NHL) has suspended its schedule three weeks from the end of the regular season.

FIGURE SKATING

- The World Championships scheduled for March 16 to 22 in Montreal are canceled.

RUGBY

- Six Nations tournament: four matches have been postponed: Ireland - Italy (March 7), Wales - Scotland, Italy - England and France - Ireland (March 14). They should be disputed at the end of October.

- In France, the Top 14 and the Pro D2 are suspended until further notice.

- The Super Rugby, rugby union championship in the southern hemisphere, which brings together teams from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Japan, is suspended until further notice.

WINTER SPORTS

- The International Federation (FIS) has canceled the last stages and the finals of the Women's and Men's Alpine Skiing World Cups.

- The last stage of the Biathlon World Cup, scheduled for March 20-22 in Oslo, has been canceled.

- The Cross Country Skiing World Cup is over after the cancellation of the last stages in Quebec (Canada), Canmore (Canada) and Minneapolis (United States).

MOTOR SPORTS

. Automobile

- F1: The Australian Grand Prix, the first round of the F1 World Championship, scheduled for Sunday, has been canceled. The next three, Bahrain (March 22), Vietnam (April 5) and China (April 19), are also postponed. The holding of GPs from the Netherlands (May 3), Spain (May 10) and Monaco (May 24) is also in question.

- The Formula E season is suspended for two months.

- The IndyCar cancels all of its races until the end of April.

- WRC World Championship: the next round in Argentina (April 23-26) has been postponed to an unspecified date.

- World Endurance Championship: the 1000 miles of Sebring (March 20-21) are canceled.

. Motorbike

- The first four Grands Prix of the season (Qatar, Thailand, the Americas and Argentina) have been canceled or postponed. The start of the season has been delayed by two months from early March to May 3.

- The 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycles, scheduled for April 18 and 19, are postponed to September 5 and 6.

SURF

- The first stage of the pro circuit at Snappers Rocks, in Australia (March 26 - April 5), is canceled.

TENNIS

- The tournaments on the male ATP circuit are suspended for six weeks until April 26. For the WTA, the Miami (March 24-April 5) and Charleston (April 6-12) tournaments are canceled.

- The final phase of the Fed Cup scheduled for April 14 to 19 in Budapest, which was to bring together twelve nations, has been postponed.

TABLE TENNIS

- The world governing body of table tennis (ITTF) suspends "all its activities", in particular the tournaments, until the end of April.

VOLLEYBALL

- Volleyball competitions in France are suspended until further notice.

AMATEUR SPORT

- The French Football Federation suspends all of its competitions, which includes, in addition to the women's D1, the amateur football championships.

- The French Athletics (FFA) and Rugby (FFR) Federations have canceled all their competitions, rallies and group training.

© 2020 AFP