Thursday 4 June 2020 20:27, UK
The Scottish FA has approved plans for Premiership clubs to return to training on June 11, with the new season being planned to start on the weekend of August 1.
The board of the Scottish FA held a virtual conference to agree the next steps and to implement the timeline and protocols put forward last week for the return of professional football in Scotland to the Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing and the National Clinical Director of Scotland.
The June 11 date was set in accordance with the period during which the Scottish Government deemed NHS Scotland to be on an emergency footing to deal with impact of COVID-19.
Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA Chief Executive said: "Firstly, I would stress that the conditional lifting of suspension for Scottish Premiership clubs is predicated on observing the measures outlined by Scottish Government in their route map out of lockdown.
"I would like to thank the Joint Response Group sub groups for their work in helping to produce the robust Return to Training protocol which has given the government the necessary comfort to provisionally plan for an August 1 restart for the Premiership."
Games will take place behind closed doors, initially, until medical experts recommend it is safe for the easing of mass gathering measures.
Talks will continue regarding how lower league football will resume.
Maxwell added: "I am also aware that other parts of the game will seek further clarity on when they may be able to resume. The testing criteria required at this stage is prohibitive but as the governing body for football we are determined to restore the national game at all levels as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.
"I am aware of the need to provide an achievable route map for the women's game and we are engaged with Scottish Women's Football to discuss the practicalities for the Scottish Women's Premier League, especially given Glasgow City's involvement in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
"The grassroots sub group has recently issued a Q&A to the recreational game and we are in the process of looking at initiatives to keep those grassroots footballers of all ages engaged until they can return to the football pitch."
Maxwell also confirmed that he is confident the Scottish Premiership will be able to return for the new season on August 1 as part of a new deal with Sky Sports that will include 'virtual season tickets' for top-flight clubs.
"We're as confident as we can be," he told Sky Sports News.
"The government has outlined that's going to be dependent on the situation in the country [as a whole] in terms of coronavirus and how as a nation we are dealing with that.
"If the numbers of cases continue to drop, it will be confirmed we can start games at that point.
"If there is a reaction for whatever reason and numbers don't go the way that we hoped, then that decision is going to have to be revisited.
"As it stands right now, we are hopeful it can kick-off on 1 August."
Maxwell feels that the planned August 1 start date for the Scottish Premiership, combined with the announcement that teams can return to training from June 11, gives football supporters something positive to focus on.
"I think everybody feels more a bit more optimistic as soon as they see a date, something in the calendar that says 'training is going to start back any time from the 11 [June]," he added.
