Sports update: Olympics could take place in summer 2021; Premier League reportedly reaches agreement for behind closed doors season wrap-up

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Sports Federations (IFs) are looking to reschedule the Tokyo games to a window between the Wimbledon and US Open tennis grand slams. 

According to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri, John Coates, the IOC coordination commission chair for Tokyo 2020 and president of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), believes that this is the most logical window.

The Tokyo 2020 games were due to take place between July 24-August 9, but were officially cancelled last week. In that announcement, the IOC said that the Games would take place by summer 2021 at the latest.

The report also adds that World Athletics president Sebastian Coe wants the date finalised “in four weeks time” and that next year’s world championships in Oregon could be moved to 2022 as a result.

Previous comments by IOC president Thomas Bach, who indicated that a delay doesn’t necessarily mean that the games will take place in the summer, have led to speculation that  a ‘cherry blossom’ Games in April could be a possibility.

English football to go behind closed doors, claims report

The English professional football season could be wrapped up behind closed doors over a period of between four-six weeks.

A new report from Football.London says that all focus from the FA, Premier League and English Football League is on finishing the season, in order to avoid the serious financial fallout of abandoning the league.

The UK is currently under lockdown until April 13, while a joint statement from professional footballing bodies ruled out returning to the game before April 30.

According to sources cited by the report, a call between the three governing bodies and the government took place on Saturday with a plan reached to complete the season in July, should the coronavirus situation continue on its projected course.

This new plan would effectively see the 2019/20 season roll straight into the 2020/21 season, but the report adds that some allowances would be made to effectively create an extended season.

These allowances could include scrapping cup replays or even cancelling the League Cup and EFL Trophy.

All of this would likely ruffle the feathers of some top footballing execs who want to abandon the season. According to sports journal The Athletic, several senior figures at top clubs feel that it is ‘morally wrong’ to entertain the idea of coming back to football amid the coronavirus crisis.

Meanwhile, the FA has said that it is determined to finish the postponed FA Cup, with the Mirror reporting that the final could be staged in October.