Paris (AFP)
The next day of the French men's basketball championship scheduled for this weekend has been postponed after the announcement by President Emmanuel Macron of a new confinement from Friday until December 1, announced the National League (LNB) , Wednesday.
"The steering committee will make a decision for the days scheduled for November as soon as the government has provided additional details to the president's statements on professional sport," explained the LNB.
During his speech, the President of the Republic did not mention the fate of professional sports competitions and their possible pursuit behind closed doors.
Prime Minister Jean Castex will speak to the Assembly on Thursday morning, then at a press conference at 6.30 pm, to detail the "new measures against the second wave" of the epidemic.
Wednesday evening, Emmanuel Macron announced a new period of confinement which will begin on Friday and will last at least until December 1, to try to cope with the "sudden acceleration" of the Covid-19 epidemic which "overwhelms" all Europe.
The postponement recorded on Wednesday evening by the LNB management committee concerns the seventh day of the Elite championship (1st division) and the 4th day of ProB (2nd division).
In November, four full days of Elite and four full days of Pro B are on the program, as well as several matches of these two championships postponed since the start of the season due to cases of Covid-19 within the various teams.
The 2019/20 season of the French basketball championship was prematurely stopped in mid-March due to the first 55-day confinement between March 17 and May 11, and had not resumed.
For many basketball clubs, holding meetings behind closed doors is hardly an option, because the TV rights are very low or even non-existent and the income all comes directly or indirectly from the public.
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