The newly renamed BBVA Stadium. Photo courtesy of BBVA
In the span of a week, "the world's game" went from business as usual, while keeping a close eye on the Coronavirus situation, to most leagues stopping play altogether. The powers that be now look to solutions for some of the world's top competitions like the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League.
UPDATE:Both the UEFA EURO (European Championship) and CONMEBOL Copa America (South American Championship), the two most renowned international tournaments after the FIFA World Cup, announced the postponement of their 2020 editions on Tuesday. Both tournaments will now be played in the Summer of 2021.
ICYMI: UEFA announced on Tuesday that #EURO2020 would be postponed by one year. It is proposed the tournament will… https://t.co/1tFk9a3lGf— UEFA (@UEFA) 1584519294.0
Debido a la evolución mundial del Coronavirus y con el objetivo de salvaguardar la salud del fútbol sudamericano,… https://t.co/kHvrJgqBKJ— Copa América (@Copa América) 1584453836.0
Concacaf (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) also annnounced the suspension of it's international competitons, most importantly the Men's Olympic Qualifying tournament in late March. No announcement has been made yet as to what the fate will be for the Concacaf Nations League, the semifinals of which are scheduled to take place this June in Houston.
Here is the updates on the status of club football:
UEFA Champions League / Europa League
Following the quarantine imposed on players of Juventus and Real Madrid, the following #UCL matches will not take p… https://t.co/Bp0KIfd7rd— UEFA (@UEFA) 1584029574.0
The UEFA Champions League and Europa League are suspended for the moment after due in big part to the inability of Italian teams to take part in the Round of 16 stage of either tournament. Some matches had already taken place with no spectators but the implementation of a nationwide quarantine in Italy and, subsequently, Spain have complicated the tournament to continue.
Update: UEFA hosted a videoconference with Presidents and General Secretaries of the 55 national associations, representatives of the European Club Association, European Leagues and FIFPro Europe on Tuesday to discuss the rest of the season.
The decision to postpone EURO 2020, and the colaboration for Copa America to do the same, was made to clear the schedule during the summer for club competitions. Now it's a wait and see but there is optimism to resume play as early as April and finish in late June or July.
CONMEBOL Libertadores / Copa Sudamericana
🏆 The #Libertadores is suspended until at least May 5th. 📌 More information (en español): https://t.co/nvtKgmBYQK https://t.co/YBXshkbMPH— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@CONMEBOL Libertadores) 1584578278.0
South America's club championships are on hold for the time being and will also benefit from the Copa America suspension to have a clear schedule this summer.
English Premier League
The FA, Premier League, EFL and women’s professional game, together with the PFA and LMA are committed to finding w… https://t.co/YV3V1v7i32— Premier League (@Premier League) 1584622800.0
The Premier League went from expecting to play the weekend schedule to doing a 180 and announcing the suspension of the league after the news broke of Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta testing positive for Coronavirus.
Spain's La Liga
Official statement. LaLiga confirms suspension of the competition for Matchdays 28 and 29. 📝… https://t.co/SwtKi6B9CX— LaLiga English (@LaLiga English) 1584012230.0
German Bundesliga
DFL Ordinary Assembly suspends further Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches. For now, this affects Matchday 27 in bo… https://t.co/vcGUTiJ1UY— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga English) 1584378743.0
Italian Serie A
#SerieATIM is officially suspended. We're taking a break, but we can't wait to be back. #WeAreCalcio https://t.co/xhQY33g6gV— Lega Serie A (@Lega Serie A) 1583917730.0
French Ligue 1
"This is vital for the future of the clubs and French football." @LFPfr president Nathalie Boy de la Tour affirmed… https://t.co/Zswzlo9I1O— Ligue1 English (@Ligue1 English) 1584534669.0
Ligue 1 has set April 15th as a target date for the best case scenario to comeback from the Coronavirus hiatus. The date takes into account two weeks of training before the league resumes.
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer Statement on CDC Recommendation https://t.co/XRXGfUEtz0— Major League Soccer (@Major League Soccer) 1584630121.0
National Women's Soccer League
Update on the start of the #NWSL season: https://t.co/Uf45KweIio— NWSL (@NWSL) 1584736259.0
Liga MX / Ascenso MX/ MX Femenil
Mensaje de la Presidencia Ejecutiva de la LIGA MX / ASCENSO MX: https://t.co/4pOOTzeFBb https://t.co/WyPre2Z81j— LIGA BBVA MX (@LIGA BBVA MX) 1584760632.0
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The New York Jets interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik for their head coach position Thursday.
The meetings with Smith and Slowik gave the Jets 12 known candidates with whom they've spoken about their vacancy.
New York has also interviewed Aaron Glenn, Vance Joseph, Mike Locksley, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Darren Rizzi, Rex Ryan, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich and Mike Vrabel for the job. Vrabel has since been hired by New England as its coach.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley are also expected to meet soon with the Jets.
The 42-year-old Smith, who was the Atlanta Falcons' head coach from 2021-23, was considered one of the Jets' top candidates in 2021 when he interviewed with the team before New York hired Robert Saleh. Smith was hired by the Falcons the next day and went 21-30, with three straight 7-10 finishes, before being fired after the 2023 season.
Mike Tomlin hired Smith last offseason to run the Steelers' offense, which improved in several categories this season with Russell Wilson at quarterback as Pittsburgh made the playoffs.
Smith spent 10 years with Tennessee, including the last two as the Titans' offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. He previously had a stint with Washington as its defensive quality control coach in between college stops at North Carolina (2006) and Mississippi (2010).
The 37-year-old Slowik met with the Jets in a video interview since the Texans remain in the playoffs and are preparing to face the Chiefs in Kansas City on Saturday.
He's in his second year running the Texans' offense with quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was last season's AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been one of the league's most dynamic young playmakers.
Slowik, whose father Bob coaches in the CFL after several years as an NFL assistant, spent six years as an assistant under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco before joining the Texans. The Princeton, New Jersey, native started his pro coaching career as a video assistant for Washington in 2010 before being promoted to defensive assistant, a role he held for three years. Slowik then worked at Pro Football Focus as a senior analyst for three years before being hired by the 49ers.
The Jets are also conducting an extensive search for a new general manager. They have interviewed 15 candidates for that position, including Green Bay Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan and Miami Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine on Tuesday.