Coronavirus and sport

Southampton Football Club and their Saints Foundation have joined forces with charitable food re-distributors FareShare to cook and deliver a range of 1,000 meals each week for people in need across Southampton and the surrounding community during the pandemic.

Saints Foundation will also provide volunteers to FareShare each day, to support across their entire operation.

The project, which forms part of the club’s new Saints As One campaign, will initially cover the next 12 weeks, to align with the suggested period of isolation for the most at-risk members of society.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard admits planning training regimes is a concern with no definitive date for football to return.

“It is very difficult at the moment because we have got nothing concrete in front of us,” Lampard said in a Face Time interview with Chelsea’s official club app.

“We have seen that things can change very quickly, so we can only go by the dates we have been given, at the moment it looks like 1 May or the end of April.

“The last thing I want to do at this moment when the players are in this position when we don’t know when the games are going to be is to try and push and push and push (them) for no reason.”

Harry Winks has revealed that Tottenham players have been given an individual fitness schedule in order to remain in shape while staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s a bit strange for all of us, but I’ve got my head around it,” Winks explained.

Spurs have been providing players with any equipment they need to complete their own exercise programmes, including weights, rollers and exercise bikes.

Manager Jose Mourinho has also been contacting members of the squad and every player was assigned a coach to oversee their individual programmes, with live video training sessions set to start on Monday.

Atletico Madrid have taken the decision to cut the wages of their staff, including the players, to ease the financial burden on the club as they struggle with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Atletico join rivals Barcelona, who imposed a compulsory wage reduction on their players during the period of lockdown after Spain became the second-most impacted country in Europe behind Italy.

Spain has nearly 57,800 confirmed cases with 4,36 deaths due to the pandemic and the country has been in lockdown since March 14 with the period extended by a further 15 days to April 12.

Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil said wage cut was necessary to guarantee the “survival of the club” with the staff being paid despite the season being suspended indefinitely, which has impacted revenues of clubs across Europe.

More from Burnley manager Sean Dyche on Radio 4’s Today programme on the power of football.

“The Premier League’s a very, very powerful vehicle – not just for the finance, the finance it brings into the country through tax etc. But also for the feelgood factor,” he said.

“I think people forget sometimes how powerful football is at all levels by the way, but particularly the Premier League, is a bit of a showcase for football. And I think they do forget how powerful it is.

“And it is something that families, even at the moment we’re in this period of looking after yourself and staying in your own situations, you know, if it can be done, and I think it’s good for all to have sports on TV, not just football or sports, of course but Premier League football is a powerful thing.”

Here’s a positive story in these uncertain times…

Ajax’s Abdelhak Nouri, who suffered brain damage after an on-pitch heart attack in 2017, is out of hospital and communicating with his family at home, his brother has told Dutch television.

The midfielder, 22, was placed in an induced coma after the incident in a pre-season game in Austria in 2017.

“He sleeps, eats, sneezes and burps but is very dependent,” his brother Abderrahim told De Wereld Draait Door.

“Some communication is possible, for example raising eyebrows.”

Read more here.

The actual Grand National may be off but next weekend will still feature a televised Virtual Grand National.

Forty runners who would have been most likely to line up will take part, using CGI technology and special algorithms.

Tiger Roll had been due to seek an unprecedented third consecutive win in the big race on Saturday, 4 April before it was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The virtual race will be broadcast by ITV at 17:00 BST the same day.

Executive producer Rob McLoughlin said: “We use the latest CGI technology and algorithms and were ready to go ahead as a forerunner to the big race, but now we want to cheer the nation up and ask the computer if history could have been made.”

League One Sunderland have announced they have placed members of their non-playing staff on furlough – a temporary leave of absence – as they attempt to protect jobs in the long-term.

A club statement said: “Due to the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Sunderland AFC have recently placed a number of the club’s non-playing staff on furlough leave.

“With football suspended until at least 30 April and many members of staff unable to carry out their roles as a result, the club has taken the decision to utilise the government’s newly-announced wage support system.

“The decision will not only ensure staff continue to be paid, but but also help to ensure that as many jobs as possible remain protected throughout the ongoing lockdown.”

Feliciano Lopez does not expect many players to skip the French Open after its controversial move from spring to autumn.

The tournament is now due to begin only a week after the US Open and clashes with a number of events, including Roger Federer’s Laver Cup.

The Laver Cup, a Ryder Cup-style tournament between Europe and the rest of the world that has attracted star-studded fields, responded with a statement saying it would go ahead as planned.

Spaniard Lopez, ranked 56th, said: “It is an emergency situation. If it finally turns out that way, I imagine that tennis players will want to play and few people will skip it.”

Bath have become the latest Premiership club to announce pay cuts for players and staff.

Bath chief executive Tarquin McDonald said: “While the clear intention of the league and the clubs is to get back to playing rugby as soon as possible, the financial impact on all clubs in the league is significant and immediate.

“In this unprecedented landscape, I can confirm that we have taken the difficult decision to ask all players and staff to support the club by agreeing a 25% reduction of salary, effective from 1 April 2020.

“This reduction will not apply to our lower-earning members of staff and players, and we will ensure that we support our people where they are facing serious financial difficulty.

“The decision will remain under constant review, whilst we wait to start playing rugby again.

“The response of everyone at the club has been amazing. There is a deep desire to come through this period of uncertainty together and to emerge stronger as a club, which we will.”

The Evian Championship, one of five majors in the women’s game, will move into the week vacated by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.

Originally scheduled for 23-26 July at Evian-les-Bains, the Championship, won last year by South Korea’s Ko Jin-young, will move to 6-9 August, the LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and tournament officials announced on Friday.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard accepts clubs cannot expect players to “push and push” themselves during the coronavirus pandemic – with no concrete timetable as to when football will return.

The Blues squad continue to train at home during the lockdown initiated by the government.

Given the current situation, the target date for a resumption of games from 30 April appears very optimistic. Lampard, though, feels there is little else everyone at the club can do but try to stay focused on the bigger picture.

“It is very difficult at the moment because we have got nothing concrete in front of us,” said Lampard.

“We have seen that things can change very quickly, so we can only go by the dates we have been given, at the moment it looks like 1 May or the end of April.

“But daily or probably weekly we are looking at it, saying: ‘well, how do we train? What does it look like?”

The England and Wales Cricket Board could install coronavirus checkpoints and isolation units at grounds in order to resume the game behind closed doors.

English cricket has shut down until at least 28 May but the ECB is looking at playing internationals with no fans.

England’s Test series with West Indies is due to start at The Oval on 4 June,

“We’re mapping out what international matches would look like behind closed doors,” ECB director of events Steve Elworthy told the Guardian.

James McClean has been fined two weeks’ wages by Stoke after an inappropriate social media post.

The winger has also agreed to delete his Instagram account following the post which provoked online criticism.

The 30-year-old Republic of Ireland international was pictured sitting above his two kids as they look up at him, his face covered by a balaclava, with the caption: “Today’s School lesson – History.”

He told the club’s website: “I never wanted to cause any offence but I now realise that I did so and for that I apologise unreservedly. I have spoken to the club and will be deleting my Instagram account.”

The 2020 NFL draft is to go ahead as scheduled next month but players, fans and media will not be present because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It will be held from 23-25 April in a television studio, with players interviewed via video conference.

The draft was due to take place in Las Vegas and the NFL had already cancelled all public events.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said it “can serve a very positive purpose for our clubs, our fans, and the country”.

Read more here.

Rangers striker Jermain Defoe says football has to take a back seat as Scotland deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

The game has been suspended since 13 March due to the health crisis, with no firm date set for its return.

“To be honest, there are more important things happening in the world than football,” the 37-year-old former Tottenham and England player told TalkSport.

“People are dying every day which is such a sad thing, it puts things into perspective and you think, you know what, football is not important at all at this moment in time.

“The most important thing is the people who are actually suffering and the families that are losing loved ones.”

Work has begun to convert part of Scarlets’ training ground into a temporary hospital ward amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, will provide additional bed space for hundreds of people on the turf of its indoor training pitch, described by the club as the Barn, with the aim of being ready for an anticipated peak in demand in May.

The head of US Anti-Doping Travis Tygart fears some athletes will “take advantage” of reduced drug testing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tygart says the outbreak, which has led to almost 24,000 deaths globally, opens a “window of opportunity” for those not “willing to compete clean”.

US Anti-Doping (Usada) is continuing to carry out “mission critical testing”.

However, Tygart thinks the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics could be the “cleanest Games we’ve seen”.

Read more here.

Over in America the National Football League say that in collaboration with the National Football League Players Association, clubs, owners and players, more than $35 million (£28m) has been donated to relief efforts.

The 10 organizations receiving donations are: American Red Cross, Bob Woodruff Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, CDC Foundation, GENYOUth Foundation, Meals on Wheels America, Salvation Army, Team Rubicon, United Way and Wounded Warrior Project.

“We have all been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, we need to unify to stay home and stay strong,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“The NFL will continue to find ways to give our support so we can get through this time of uncertainty together.”