Sweden's top football leagues to kick off on June 14

By Emre Asikci

ANKARA (AA) – Sweden's top two football leagues will have their belated kickoff on June 14 after a coronavirus delay, authorities announced on Friday.

The Swedish Elite Football Association (SEF) said the top division Allsvenskan and second-tier Superettan "will start according to plan."

"The Swedish Government and the Public Health Authority today gave the go-ahead for Allsvenskan and Superettan to start according to plan on June 14," read a SEF statement.

"We are very grateful that the authorities have adopted the protocols we made and that they share our view that we can start playing in the middle of June without contributing to the spread of infection in the society," said SEF chief Mats Enquist.

The statement said the schedule for the remaining games of the Swedish Cup has yet to be finalized.

Football leagues in Sweden normally begin in April and end in November, but were delayed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sweden, one of the world’s few countries that did not impose a full lockdown, has reported 35,727 cases, including 4,266 deaths, to date.