The Spanish Football Federation has agreed with LaLiga and the Spanish Footballers’ Association on the minimum interval between games once football returns.
With the coronavirus outbreak spreading continuously, football around the world, including that in LaLiga, has been suspended.
Tuesday, LaLiga’s president Javier Tebas held a video conference call, in which he outlined the steps that will be taken to finish the season, and the consequences the pandemic has had on the league, its clubs and its players.
Shortly after, the Spanish Football Federation, also known as the RFEF, released a press statement with regards to the scheduling of the remaining games for this season. Previously, an agreement was in place between the parties reducing the minimum interval between games down to every 48 hours.
That agreement has now been voided, as a new agreement is in place between LaLiga, the RFEF and the Spanish Footballers’ Association. The agreement was published Tuesday afternoon, and raises the minimum interval from every 48 hours to every 72 hours.
This was, per the statement, done to further take the players’ health into consideration, regardless of whether the remaining fixtures were to be played behind closed doors.
Moreover, two drinking breaks will be held during games, to avoid hydration issues for the players during the heat that can occur in the months that the games would take place in.
Additionally, the Federation adds that it opposes games being played in conditions that would go against the players’ health, namely in the months of May through July due to the conditions that, at times, can be too sunny or too humid. The Federation’s priority is ‘the players health above the tournament,’ the statement reads.
LaLiga and all professional football in Spain is, for now, suspended indefinitely, as the entire country is in a State of Emergency, and has been in lockdown since Saturday, March 14.
