Back in action!

TDT |Manama

Bahrain’s sports leagues have been allowed to resume from mid-July, it was announced yesterday. The go-ahead was given by the Government Executive Committee, following its 326th meeting yesterday, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.

The committee declared that national sports leagues may resume their activities from the middle of next month, but without the presence of spectators. Meanwhile, the Government Executive Committee added that, based on a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs and the recommendation of the National Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19), indoor and outdoor training may resume for professional athletes and national teams, in accordance with set guidelines.

The decisions were among the latest developments on measures to combat the coronavirus along with laws that were reviewed during yesterday’s meeting. In light of these, His Majesty the King’s Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs representative, National Security Advisor and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa has decided to call for meetings today and tomorrow with officials from the Supreme Council, the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Bahrain Olympic Committee to decide the necessary precautions and measures that need to be taken to guarantee the safety of athletes when resuming training and games, in addition to administrative and organisational procedures.

A platform will also be provided with the aim of responding to inquiries from national federations, clubs and all those concerned with these decisions. Bahrain’s major national sports leagues have been put on hold since March following the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Games involving the Kingdom’s national teams at all levels have also been postponed due to the virus crisis, including the senior men’s national football team’s remaining joint-qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

Following the announcement of yesterday’s executive committee decisions, the Bahrain Football Association said on social media that the senior men’s squad will be playing an international friendly match against Malaysia on October 2.

The tune-up will be held in the Kingdom, and it will be part of their preparations for their remaining qualifying games for the World and Asian cups, which have been provisionally rescheduled for October and November. Bahrain’s resumption of national leagues follows the lead of other countries around the world, where major competitions have already returned in various sports—mostly also without spectators.