Rabat – The first match of the Spanish Football league ( La Liga ) after the COVID-19-induced postponement will take place on Thursday, June 11, between Sevilla FC and Real Betis, at 9 p.m. GMT.
After three months without football, the two Andalusian teams will mark the resumption of the most popular sport in Spain. This match will be the first among 110 that are set to take place throughout 40 days of daily football, according to La Liga.
The first game will see the participation of three Moroccans players representing both teams: Zouhair Feddal with Real Betis, and Yassine Bounou and Youssef En Nesyri with Sevilla FC.
The two Seville squads’ match falls on the season’s 28th match day. Nine other La Liga matches will take place between June 11 and 13, including Barcelona FC vs RDC Mallorca.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic that left Spain with more than 27,000 fatalities, a minute of silence will proceed every La Liga match until the end of the season as a tribute to the victims and their families, according to a press release by the Spanish Football Federation.
This announcement follows the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’ declaration on May 23 that La Liga would be allowed to resume play the week of June 8.
“I would like to inform you that with the Higher Council for Sport, we agreed to resume La Liga the week of June 8,” said Sanchez during a press conference, also stressing the sport’s popularity in the country.
“We hope that football will soon be back, La Liga and the [Royal Spanish Football] Federation will decide that,” Sanchez had said earlier in May.
The Spanish government allowed the resumption of training sessions for La Liga clubs on May 2, which had also been postponed since mid-March.
La Liga themed its resumption with the concept #VolverEsGanar (BackToWin). The league’s press release said, “This umbrella concept includes a multitude of actions that La Liga has carried out to celebrate that football is back once again.”
