Football in Turkey to return 12th June

Turkish competitions will resume on 12th June, the president of the Turkish FA (TFF), Nihat Özdemir, announced on Wednesday.

"We have decided to start the Superliga, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd leagues, as 12th, 13th and 14th June," Özdemir said in a statement published on the Federation's website.

The TFF president highlighted that this decision already has the all-clear from the Ministry of Health, but that the conditions under which it can be played still need to be established, a matter to be discussed with the Scientific Council, set up to advise the government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Özdemir recalled that the Federation put the matches behind closed doors on 11th March, when the first coronavirus case was recorded in Turkey, before completely suspending the league a week later, when the first death was recorded.

"If everything goes well we will be able to finish the league at the end of July, then we will move on to the cups and in August we hope to crown the season by hosting the final of the UEFA Champions League in our country with dignity", the TFF president said.

With 8 matchdays left to play, Trabzonspor are top of the Superliga, followed by Istanbul Basaksehir and Galatasaray, while Besiktas are 5th and Fenerbahçe, 6th.