Football returns to Wuhan after 3 months

WUHAN, China: For nearly three months football enthusiasts in Wuhan were left kicking their heels indoors as the coronavirus raged in the Chinese city at the epicentre of the outbreak.

But since the harsh lockdown on the city of 11 million people ended in early April, amateur footballers have been gleefully ripping off their face masks and lacing up their boots again.

“It was a long time to be in lockdown so we had to do some exercise at home,” said Wang Zijun, 42. “I used to juggle the ball with my son at home and pass the ball to each other, and sometimes we went to the underground garage to do exercise.”

Another player who finally enjoyed a run-out on a warm evening under floodlights said it was liberating to be able to kick a ball again with friends and team-mates.

They did so without their masks covering their faces, although some players kept them dangling around their necks.

“Before the lockdown was lifted everyone felt so oppressed,” said the 45-year-old, who would only give the surname Wen. “We need to do physical exercise. After the lockdown was lifted, we resumed training one time per week. I’m very happy.”

Professional footballers were affected too. Wang Shuang, a Wuhan native and star of China’s women’s team, who are pushing for a place at the Tokyo Olympics, resorted to kicking a ball against a wall on a roof.

Chinese Super League (CSL) team Wuhan Zall and third-tier Wuhan Three Towns have both returned to the central city after being forced to train elsewhere at the height of the outbreak.

The CSL season was supp­o­sed to begin on February 22 but has been indefinitely po­st­poned by the health alert, which has since eased in China.

Meanwhile in Paris, relegated Amiens on Tuesday joined Lyon in telling AFP that they will challenge the decision to end the Ligue 1 football season early before the Council of State, France’s highest administrative court.

The club opposes the April 30 decision by the Fre­nch Football League (LFP) to end the season due to the cor­o­navirus pandemic, after the government said sports leagues could not resume until September at the earliest.

Amiens were relegated from Ligue 1 as the second-bottom team after the final table was decided based on points per game, with 10 scheduled rounds of matches remaining.

“Amiens are still fighting against this decision which we find unfair, incoherent and unfounded,” Amiens President Bernard Joannin told AFP.