Bulgaria's top soccer clubs will resume training within a few days for the first time since the coronavirus stoppage, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
"We are in constant contact with the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) and they told us to inform the players that training sessions will resume very soon," a top club official said on condition of anonymity.
The league has been on hold since March 13 as part of countrywide lockdown measures which have begun to be eased. Team training could re-start later this week or early next week, the sources said. The BFU was not immediately available to comment.
BFU vice-president Atanas Furnadjiev told Bulgarian national television the governing body was hoping to resume its top league in early June, subject to government approval.
Furnadjiev said all players would undergo testing for the novel coronavirus before they can return to training facilities, adding that the BFU will pay for the tests.
The BFU was also considering allowing coaches and other officials aged over 65 to sit in the stands during matches amongst other guidelines, he said.
Ludogorets, which has won the title for the past eight seasons, topped the 14-team league with 55 points from 23 matches, nine more than Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia.
The BFU has yet to decide in what format the championship will resume. Previously it involved playoffs between the top and bottom teams after 26 regular matches.
As of Tuesday, the Black Sea state had 1,689 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 78 deaths.
(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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