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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Tom Doyle

Premier League return date confirmed: Man City vs Arsenal first game back on June 17 for Project Restart

Premier League clubs have agreed to resume fixtures in the third week of June with Manchester City vs Arsenal set to be one of the first games on June 17.

All 20 top-flight clubs voted unanimously on Wednesday for a return to contact training as plans to kick-start the 2019/20 season take shape amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The clubs convened again on Thursday to discuss other key issues surrounding Project Restart, including the use of home or neutral venues, a potential £340million rebate for TV rights holders, and contingency plans to end the season should it prove necessary.

Clubs had provisionally agreed upon restart dates, leaving teams with just over three weeks to prepare for the return of top-flight football.

Four teams - Man City, Arsenal, Sheffield United and Aston Villa - still have outstanding fixtures to play, and their matches are set to take place on the evening of Wednesday, June 17 before a full round of fixtures from the following Friday to the Monday.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: "Today we have provisionally agreed to resume the Premier League on Wednesday 17 June.

"But this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all participants and supporters is our priority.

"Sadly, matches will have to take place without fans in stadiums, so we are pleased to have come up with a positive solution for supporters to be able to watch all the remaining 92 matches.

"The Premier League and our clubs are proud to have incredibly passionate and loyal supporters. It is important to ensure as many people as possible can watch the matches at home.

"We will continue to work step-by-step and in consultation with all our stakeholders as we move towards resuming the 2019/20 season."

Every game will be broadcast live on TV, with BBC picking up four games to be broadcast free-to-air. Amazon Prime will add to the 20 they won rights for earlier this season as Sky Sports and BT Sport show the rest, with no two games being played at the same time.

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