The Scottish Sun reports that UEFA are considering a radical plan dreamed up by Dutch company Hypercube, which, if applied, would affect Scottish football until 2023.
The sports business specialists have looked at how to restart football amid the global health crisis and how to fit the next few seasons around the European Championships and the 2022 World Cup.
Their suggestion is that, rather than rushing to restart leagues now, competitions should restart in October and finish by early December.
Following a short break, the 2020/21 season would start in late December and run until 1 November 2021, factoring in a one-month stoppage in the summer for the European Championships.
The 2021/22 campaign would also then run from December to November, finishing in time for the World Cup, which is scheduled to begin later that month.
Following the World Cup, there would be a fast-tracked domestic season between January and July 2023, meaning the 2023/24 season could begin in August and adhere to a traditional format.
Verdict
This is a radical proposal from Hypercube and it’ll be interesting to see to what extent it’s considered by UEFA.
These are unprecedented times and there’s little doubt the effects of the global health crisis will be seen in the footballing calendar for several years.
Euro 2020 has already been pushed back a year and major adjustments to the domestic schedule were always going to be needed in the future given that the Qatar World Cup is taking place in the winter.
Yet, as the Bundesliga has reportedly been given the go-ahead to return behind closed doors on 15 May [Daily Mail], while there are plans in both Italy and Spain to resume playing as soon as possible, it seems highly unlikely some member associations would subscribe to this particular plan.
