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Serie A: There’s no place like Rome to try and conclude the season

By Clemente Lisi

A photo taken on March 17, 2020 shows the Olympic stadium in Rome. - The European EURO 2020 football championship, due to be played in June and July this year with its opening game and three others at the Olympic stadium in Rome, has been postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, European football's governing body UEFA said on March 17. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
A photo taken on March 17, 2020 shows the Olympic stadium in Rome. - The European EURO 2020 football championship, due to be played in June and July this year with its opening game and three others at the Olympic stadium in Rome, has been postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, European football's governing body UEFA said on March 17. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images) /
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As coronavirus continues to halt sports, Serie A is looking at several options going into the summer. One of them involves playing games all in one city.

As the coronavirus pandemic persists around the world, sports leagues continue to ponder when and how they will resume games once this all subsides. Soccer leagues across Europe are trying to figure this all out after UEFA gave all of them an edict that abandoning the 2019-20 season isn’t an option.

That means games could be played into the summer, and possibly even the fall, as leagues scramble to come up with amended schedules and venues. A plan is being floated in Italy to play the remaining Serie A schedule in Rome, far from the virus hotspots of northern Italy, in an effort to finish the season.

The plan resembles that of Major League Baseball, which is considering starting the season next month by playing games only in Arizona before the contagion subsides nationally over the coming weeks.

The Serie A plan calls for all 20 teams to be quarantined in the Italian capitol and play the remaining 12 matchdays over a 45-day period in empty stadiums. Juventus are in first place with 63 points, followed by Lazio at 62 in what remains a tight two-team title race.

There are several stadiums in Rome and neighboring suburbs that could host games, including the Stadio Flaminio, Stadio Stirpe and the Stadio Olimpico, which both Roma and Lazio call home. The ability to have all the teams and their staffs in one location would allow for authorities to routinely test them for COVID-19 while they remained quarantined during training and games.

This could very well be the solution for league officials, who have been pondering for weeks how to conclude the season, determine a champion and which three clubs are relegated to the second division.

The pandemic has killed thousands of Italians and made northern cities like Milan and Bergamo two of the biggest hotspots on the planet. Atalanta, which plays in Bergamo, was having a great season before games were halted last month. Playing games there seems almost impossible given the situation and how easily the virus can be transmitted. Same goes for San Siro, the iconic stadium that houses both AC Milan and Inter Milan.

This latest plan may be the only way the season is able to be played both safely, while also giving Italians and soccer fans around the world a respite while they stay home waiting for the spread of the virus to subside.

It’s said that all roads lead to Rome. After floating lots of plans, including one that called for playoffs that was ultimately rejected by clubs, there really is no place like Rome when it comes to resuming the Serie A season.

dark. Next. Could the coronavirus be the catalyst for a European Super League?

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health. 

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