U.S President Donald Trump has urged American colleges to proceed with the autumn football season amid reports that it could be cancelled due concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
"The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled. #WeWantToPlay," Trump wrote on Twitter.
In another tweet, he wrote: "Play College Football!"
Mr Trump’s comments were made in a retweet of a post from Clemson University quarterback Trevor Lawrence, one of the more high-profile players who has been vocal on social media about his desire to play.
Trump's tweets followed several reports that U.S. college sports' "Power Five" conferences, comprised of the country's top football programs, have met to discuss the viability of a 2020 season.
"He very much would like to see college football safely resume their sport," White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at a briefing when asked about Trump's tweet.
"A lot of these college athletes... work their whole lives for this moment, and he'd like to see them have a change to live out their dreams."
Earlier this year a study conducted by Washington University in St. Louis for ESPN said the 65 schools that make up the "Power Five" would collectively lose more than $4 billion (£3b) in American Football revenue if the season were cancelled, with at least $1.2 billion (£0.9m) of that due to lost ticket revenue.
Additional reporting by Reuters
