If, in Germany, many footballers, like those of Bayern Munich on Monday April 6, have found their way back to the field to resume training, this prospect is not yet topical in France. No more in football than in other sports, like cycling.
Being able to train, even in small groups, as has been the case for footballers from about fifteen German teams, for example, "Today does not meet the criteria set" for containment, said Tuesday on RMC and BFM-TV, the Minister of Solidarity and Health, Olivier Véran.
French football still hopes to be able to resume and end its season, with UEFA saying it would like the national championships to end on August 3 at the latest. In this perspective, some have imagined a possible return to training for the Ligue 1 teams, in order to prepare for the resumption of the matches as soon as possible.
"Our staff say it takes three weeks to prepare the team", said Gérard Lopez, the owner and president of the Lille club in an interview with The Team, Tuesday while calculating that "If we resume training around May 25, we can resume the championship in mid-June, finish the season on August 3 and move on to the next."
"Containment situations are very different depending on the country"
Easing constraints now is what some people push for in cycling. At the end of last week, Pascal Chanteur, president of the National Union of Professional Cyclists (UNCP), the riders' union, thus pleaded that around April 15, "After one month of confinement, a cyclist can be authorized to go out to exercise his trade alone, while respecting the administrative obligations".
"We are not asking for freebies: we are simply asking to be considered as workers, like all other French people", he explained, pointing out that"In Switzerland, in Belgium, they can do it: the confinement situations are very different depending on the country".
“I understand footballers and athletes, but that is part of the sacrifices demanded from the population. The daily sacrifices asked of the French are enormous ”, recognized, on Tuesday, Olivier Véran. Relaunched on the current conditions for training top athletes, he said he “Would discuss it in collegiality with the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu. "
No athletics until the end of July
The French Athletics Federation (FFA) for its part decided on Tuesday to maintain the suspension of national competitions, in effect from March 13, until the end of July, while hoping to organize a season "From August to the end of October".
"All national competitions are suspended until the end of July. If it remains possible that the release of confinement will allow a resumption of sporting practice before this date, too rapid a return to competition could result in a large number of injuries ", notes the FFA.
The French Championships, scheduled for Angers from June 19 to 21, are thus postponed but no new date is given by the FFA, which will act according to whether or not the European Championships still scheduled in Paris from August 25 to 30 .
