The Argentine football association will put an end to the 2019-20 season which has been interrupted since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, its president Claudio Tapia said.
"We are going to end the tournaments so we can designate the teams qualified for continental competitions next year," Tapia told a local news channel.
The Argentine FA also said there will be no relegation this season or next due to the disruption caused by the health crisis.
Gimnasia, the club coached by Diego Maradona, will remain in the top division as a result. Relegation is calculated by a complicated system of points taken over a three-year period.
Boca Juniors won the league championship with a 1-0 victory over Gimnasia on the final day at the start of March.
The Copa Superliga, a 24-team tournament scheduled to finish with a play-off at the end of May, has been scrapped after just one round of games.
Argentina has been in lockdown since March 20, with the quarantine restrictions in place until at .

Argentine football season declared over due to virus

PTI Automatic

A new Michael Jordan television documentary has become a smash hit for NBA fans whose hope of watching the playoffs these days was scuttled by the coronavirus pandemic.
"The Last Dance" details the career of the NBA legend who led the Chicago Bulls to six titles in the 1990s, with editions three and four of the 10-part saga telecast on Sunday.
It was the top ESPN telecast in the advertiser-prized 18-to-34 demographic since the shut down of sport due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In all, 6.1 million people watched the opening episodes in the United States, making the documentary Twitter's top trending topic and ESPN's most watched original program since the network began producing such shows 16 years ago. An average of 5.9 million viewers watched the latest episodes aired in the US on Sunday.
"The Last Dance" mixes previously unaired behind-the-scenes footage taken by a special camera crew with the Bulls during their 1997-98 NBA championship run with the retelling of Jordan's amazing ...

Smash hit Jordan documentary fills TV void for NBA fans

Will Liverpool get the chance to end their long wait for the Premier League title or will there forever be an asterisk against a season that remains unfinished due to coronavirus?
Premier League stakeholders are meeting on Friday to discuss the way forward, with widespread speculation over a potential June 8 restart.
With the Dutch Eredivisie already called off and the Belgian season in the balance, there have been calls for the English top-flight to draw a line under the season.
But the clubs remain committed to ending the 2019/20 campaign and there are compelling financial and legal ramifications to playing the remaining 92 games.
AFP Sport looks at both sides of the debate:
Find a way to finish
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Since the Premier League was suspended on March 13, English clubs have endured a torrid time, with controversies over pay cuts and players breaking social-distancing rules tarnishing the brand.
Getting the focus back on football would be a welcome boost for the league, ..

Should the Premier League season be cancelled?

England cricket chief Tom Harrison says the controversial Hundred has become "even more important" due to the economic damage from coronavirus ahead of a meeting that will decide the fate of the new competition.
Last week, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) further delayed the start of the 2020 season until July 1 at the earliest but said the inaugural Hundred would be on the agenda this Wednesday.
The new 100-balls-per-side format, to be played by eight franchises rather than English cricket's established 18 first-class counties, is meant to start in July.
ECB officials have long insisted it will attract a new audience vital to safeguarding cricket's future, with some matches set to be broadcast live on terrestrial television.
But public health restrictions, the problems of bringing in overseas stars and the issue of launch costs at a time of economic crisis mean a delay appears inevitable.
"We'll look at how the situation impacts the Hundred, which was envisaged as being a ...

Fate of Hundred in balance as English cricket chiefs meet

UEFA is paying 236.5 million euros ($255 million) in advance to its national federations and easing requirements on how they spend it during the pandemic.
UEFA says each of its 55 members is getting up to 4.3 million euros ($4.7 million) they are due in central funding through next season.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says the money can be used as our members see fit to rebuild the football community.
Ceferin says this is a responsible decision to help as much as we can.
European officials are usually required to spend certain amounts in areas such as youth and women's soccer, referee training, and operating costs. They are not subject to mandatory UEFA audits.
UEFA's funding program, called Hat-Trick, is worth twice as much to European federations as they get from FIFA.
The program is worth more than 11 million euros ($12 million) in the current 4-year cycle compared to $6 million in basic funding from FIFA for 2019-22.

UEFA gives $250M advance to European soccer bodies

The three-year ban handed to Umar AKmal for not reporting corrupt approaches is "very harsh" and he will "definitely challenge" it, his elder brother Kamran said on Monday after the Pakistan Cricket Board's announcement.
Pakistan's discarded wicketkeeper-batsman, Kamran, expressed surprise over the outcome of the PCB hearing, held in Lahore on Monday.
"I am definitely surprised at the harsh punishment given to Umar. A three- year ban is very harsh. He will definitely approach every available forum to appeal against this ban," Kamran said.
The veteran of 57 Tests, 153 ODIs and 58 T20 internationals pointed out that other players have been given much lighter punishments for similar charges.
"Definitely it is hard to understand because other players in the past have got short bans for similar offences. Yet Umar has got such a harsh punishment."
Akmal was referring to Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Nawaz who were banned for short periods after not reporting approaches made to them.
Kamran ...

Umar will definitely challenge harsh three-year ban: Kamran Akmal

With the gyms being closed during the lockdown that has been enforced to keep the COVID-19 pandemic at bay, the local players of Aizawl FC have taken to custom-made gym instruments, in order to maintain their fitness.
While the situation in the northeastern state has so far been under control, something that the players of the former Hero I-League champions are thankful for, the players are all spending their time at home, maintaining the social distancing norms.
"The situation here is under control so far. The people of Mizoram understand why the lockdown is being imposed, and are obeying the suggestions made by the government," Aizawl FC forward Jonathan Lalrawngbawla said to i-league.org.
However, with the lockdown now in full flow, some of the local players, who are quarantining at home with their families, have turned their homes into gyms.
Rochharzela, who is the highest-scoring Indian player in the 2019-20 Hero I-League season with six goals to his name, is motivated to keep ...

Aizawl FC's local players rig handmade dumbbells to maintain fitness during lockdown

United States national team goalkeeper Zack Steffen was injured again after returning to training with his Bundesliga club, Fortuna Dsseldorf said Monday.
The German team said Steffen was diagnosed with knee ligament damage following an examination on Monday.
Steffen started Fortuna's first 17 Bundesliga games this season on loan from Manchester City. But he hasn't played since December because of a problem with a tendon connected to his kneecap.
Steffen missed eight league games before the Bundesliga was suspended last month because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Fortuna sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said the new injury has nothing to do with Steffen's previous problems.
"With Zack Steffen it is particularly annoying. We had only just got a grip on his patellar tendon problems thanks to hard work," Pfannenstiel said.
German players have returned to limited training in small groups as the league aims to return to competition next month. That depends, however, on approval from ...

US national team goalkeeper Steffen injured again in Germany

World champion Josh Taylor fears it will be hard to motivate himself for the "glorified sparring" of boxing behind closed doors.
The Scot was meant to defend his World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation super-lightweight titles against Thai opponent Apinun Khongsong in Glasgow on May 2.
But the outbreak of the coronavirus has put paid to that bout, with Britain in lockdown.
And even when UK government restrictions are lifted, the British Boxing Board of Control has warned planned bouts may be subject to further delay if they risk placing additional strain on the National Health Service.
It looks increasingly likely that any initial resumption of major sport in Britain, including boxing, will be without spectators.
But Taylor said the absence of a crowd could deprive him of a competitive edge.
"It would be a bit like a glorified sparring match if there's only 50 people in the building," Taylor told BBC Radio's boxing podcast.
"It's not ideal. I think for me it would 

World champion Taylor calls boxing without fans 'glorified sparring'

Former Brazilian football star Ronaldinho said on Monday that his arrest and subsequent house arrest in Paraguay for using a false passport was "a very hard blow".
"I would never have imagined myself in such a situation," said the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain striker in an interview with the Paraguayan newspaper ABC.
Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis Moreira are accused of entering Paraguay in possession of false passports.
"I was completely caught off guard when I found out that these passports were not valid," Ronaldinho said in his first public statement since his arrest two days after arriving in Asuncion at the beginning of March.
After more than a month behind bars, the 2005 Ballon d'Or winner and his brother paid bail of USD 1.6 million (1.48 million euros).
Since April 7 they have been under house arrest at the Palmaroga Hotel in the historic centre of the Paraguayan capital.
Ronaldinho said he hopes to be released "as soon as possible" after cooperating .

Ronaldinho says arrest and confinement has been 'hard'

East Bengal may be facing a financial crisis in the absence of sponsors but the Maidan giants continued their signing spree and on Monday announced the homecoming of Sehnaj Singh, Bikash Jairu and Cavin Lobo.
The club's most recent sponsor Quess Corp had terminated all the existing contracts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the players and officials wouldn't be paid their salaries for the month of May.
In a statement East Bengal, who are in talks with potential investors for helping them follow traditional rivals Mohun Bagan into the Indian Super League (ISL), confirmed the signing of Sehnaj singh from ATK, Jairu from Jamshedpur FC and Lobo from Minerva Punjab FC.
It's a homecoming after four years for 26-year-old ISL winner Sehnaj who appeared in eight matches in ATK's triumphant campaign, effecting 17 tackles, five interceptions and 21 clearances.
Sehnaj, who played five internationals after making his his debut in 2015 against Oman in a 2018 World Cup qualifier, had also ...

Facing financial crisis, East Bengal still sign Sehnaj, Jairu, Lobo

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is suspected of having intervened with Switzerland's attorney general to try to get an investigation dropped, a Swiss newspaper alleged on Monday.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) launched an investigation in early 2016, shortly after Infantino was elected president of world football's governing body, about his awarding of a television rights contract to an offshore company in his previous role as UEFA's legal affairs director.
According to the Tribune de Geneve newspaper, Infantino was "worried" about this investigation and wrote to his childhood friend, Rinaldo Arnold, who had become a senior prosecutor in Switzerland's Haut-Valais region where they grew up.
"I will try to explain to the OAG that it is in my interests that everything should be cleared up as soon as possible, that it be clearly stated that I have nothing to do with this matter," he wrote in an email cited by the newspaper.
Arnold, who had helped to set up a first meeting ...

FIFA's Infantino suspected of intervening to stop probe: report

The Italian government has ruled out team training before May 18, leaving Serie A chiefs with their backs against the wall if they are to finish a season interrupted by the coronavirus crisis.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday delayed a decision on restarting football despite allowing top athletes to resume training in a week's time.  From next Monday, individual athlete will be able to resume training.
But for team sports, in particular football, it remains a waiting game, in a championship suspended since March 9.
So, while cyclist Vincenzo Nibali will able to resuming his usual training, Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus will not.
Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora was cautious, warning: "It's not a given that football will resume." "On May 18? We will see, for team sports, such as football, rigid safety protocols are needed," Spadafora told Italian television.
Spadafora spoke of "shortcomings" in the health and safety protocol presented last week by Italian football federation ..

In Italy, time running out for Serie A return

West Ham, Brighton and Arsenal opened their training grounds to players on Monday as Premier League clubs took steps towards a potential re-start.
The English top-flight is reportedly eyeing a resumption of the season on June 8 behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Project Restart" could see the 20 Premier League clubs resume full training by May 18, allowing players a three-week "pre-season".
Premier League chiefs, due to meet with clubs on Friday, are committed to finishing the season, with Liverpool on the brink of their first English top-flight title for 30 years.
Brighton said in a statement on Monday that the club were allowing "restricted external access to the training pitches for first-team players only, for non-compulsory individual training".
"Players will need to book and be allotted staggered arrival slots, allocated their own area to train and expected to fully adhere to social distancing rules while doing so, and when arriving and exiting the facility," .

West Ham, Brighton players return to training grounds

Struggling Werder Bremen may have to play in a different city if the Bundesliga resumes next month because the local government could prolong its ban on games at the Weserstadion.
The coronavirus pandemic brought the German league to a halt in mid-March with Bayern Munich four points clear and Werder second from bottom, but the Bundesliga said last week that it is ready to resume from May 9, albeit behind closed doors with fans locked out.
Angela Merkel's government still needs to give permission for league football to resume. A decision is expected this Thursday.
But in Bremen, which is a state in Germany's Federal system, the city's senator for the interior Ulrich Maeurer has insisted no games can be played at their Weserstadion ground during the crisis.
That means Werder could have to play their remaining home games elsewhere, with the nearest cities with Bundesliga-level stadiums -- Hamburg, Hanover and Wolfsburg -- being considered.
"If, for whatever reason, we can't play in ...

Werder Bremen eye stadium switch if Bundeliga resumes

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wants to see the NBA season resume even without spectators, but only  with precautions against the coronavirus are in place to safeguard "players and important personnel".
Cuban, who spoke Sunday night on CNN, says there is no timetable for the league to return after going on hiatus March 12 when Utah's Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.
NBA clubs reportedly will open team facilities for individual workouts starting Friday in states and cities where government leaders have eased stay-at-home rules to allow for such moves. By the start of May, that could be an option for up to 10 NBA franchises, based on announced plans.
Some players from franchises in states where the lockdown remains in force had asked team officials about the possibility of going to Georgia, one of the first states to announce a relaxation, and working out in gyms there, a move team general managers did not favor.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver says it will be May before the ..

Mavericks owner Cuban will push for fan-less NBA return

The Russian soccer league says it is hoping to resume play in late June and wants to complete its season by Aug. 2.
The league says it is discussing June 21 and 28 with clubs as possible dates to resume the season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Each club has eight more league games to play.
The league says it would keep promotion and relegation if the season can be completed.
The league could expand from 16 to 18 teams for next season with the addition of the two best-placed teams from the second division if the season can't be finished.
It would then shrink back to its current size for the 2021-22 season. The Russian Cup could also be removed from the calendar for next season only.
Players in Russia are currently training on their own at home during a nationwide lockdown and some foreign players have left the country. The league says it has discussed a return to training but didn't announce any dates for that.

Russian soccer wants to resume in late June

The Bundesliga's plan to restart in May faced increased opposition Monday with a German virologist warning that players' health remains at risk from the coronavirus.
Leipzig-based Professor Uwe G. Liebert told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper that the league's proposed hygiene measures  games without fans, continuous testing and permanent monitoring of players  are not sufficient to guarantee the safety of those involved.
"We don't know about the long-term effects of an illness with COVID-19," Liebert said, referring to the death of a 31-year-old without underlying health problems from the disease.
"It's possible to get very sick or die from the virus at a young age."
Liebert, the head of the Institute of Virology at the University of Leipzig, said the league's plan to quarantine any players who test positive for the virus is flawed.
"You can only detect an infection after 48 hours  From my point of view, all people in contact with a soccer player are first-degree contacts," he ...

Bundesliga plan to restart faces increasing opposition

With soccer facing a congested program of games caused by the coronavirus pandemic, FIFA wants to let teams use five substitutes.
FIFA detailed a temporary plan Monday to help prevent more injuries due to "potential player overload" as soccer competitions catch up with a backlog.
The proposal gives competition organizers the option of letting teams use five substitutes instead of three in 90 minutes, and a sixth in knockout games that go to extra time.
"One concern in this regard is that the higher-than-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload," FIFA said in a statement.
Clubs such as Manchester City face an intense program in three competitions if games can safely restart in the coming weeks.
City could have 19 more games  10 in the Premier League, up to six in the Champions League and up to three in the FA Cup  being scheduled in as few as 10 weeks through August.
Juventus could need 20 more: 12 in Serie A, up to six .

FIFA wants to let teams use 5 substitutes during backlog

The Athletics Federation of India's online seminar for track and field sport's technical officials attracted as many as 911 participants from across South Asian Athletics Federation member nations.
During the seminar, Ireland's Pierce O'Callaghan erased doubts about judging race walking and Luis Saladie of Spain helped with drawing up timetables for competition.
Answering a question on why there were more disqualifications in race walking than in other events at the world championships, O'Callaghan said there could be a number of reasons, including a walker trying too hard or being too nervous and making mistakes as well as coming through to the biggest event after passing scrutiny by inexperienced or lenient judges.
Race walking accounts for more than a third of the 885 disqualifications in the IAAF World Athletics Championships since 1983.
"Obviously, they have been disqualified because they were found to be not complying with the rules. For, race walking is a borderline very ...

SAAF-AFI online seminar draws massive attendance

Stefanos Tsitsipas sent his sometime doubles partner Nick Kyrgios an unwelcome gift through Instagram on Monday.
The sixth-ranked Greek posted a picture of himself standing outside and holding up a home-made cardboard sign with a phone number and the words "call me" scrawled on it.
Fans who excitedly rang it thinking that it was the Greek star's number, found that the phone was turned off and quickly worked out that the number was Australian and linked to Kyrgios, who was celebrating his 25th birthday on Monday.
That was confirmed when Kyrgios himself replied.
"You are an absolute i****" he posted, using stars for the last four letters and adding, after a series of laughing emoticons,  "everyone stop calling me!!!!!"
One of the other comments asked Tsitsipas: "Someone has to get a new phone number, is he happy with your birthday gift?"
Kyrgios had earlier posted a video of himself celebrating his birthday, saying "25 feels good" and drinking straight from a bottle of wine.

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