Spanish football given green light to return from 8 June

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has given permission for football in the country to resume

Lionel Messi (Getty Images)

Spanish football has been given the governmental green light to return from 8 June.

La Liga teams have been back in training for a number of weeks and this week stepped up sessions to working in small groups.

With lockdown measures now being eased Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has given permission for football in the country to resume from 8 June.

"Spain has done what it needed to do and now new horizons can open for everyone. The time has come to recover many of our daily activities. From June 8 La Liga will be able to return," Sanchez said on Saturday.

"Spanish football has a huge following but it will not be the only recreation activity that will return."

Specific fixtures are yet to be confirmed but La Liga will likely resume on 12 June with matches behind closed doors without supporters and strict health and safety protocols in place.

Barcelona were top of the league standings when football was indefinitely suspended in March with rivals Real Madrid two points behind with 11 games remaining.

Germany remain the only one of Europe’s top five leagues to have resumed in the wake of the pandemic.

The Premier League in England are still discussing how and when to try and return to the field while leagues in France and the Netherlands have already cancelled their 2019/20 campaigns.