“The only fair and reasonable thing to do is declare the whole season null and void,” wrote West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady last week in a column discussing how the Premier League should resolve a season suspended indefinitely by COVID-19. All 29 match days, Jamie Vardy’s league-topping 19 goals, and Liverpool’s 25 point lead, all vanished into thin air. Brady was perhaps influenced by another angle, with her West Ham side only ahead of Bournemouth and Watford in goal difference in a tight relegation battle. Brady did empathize with Jurgen Klopp, admitting that her plan was a “huge blow to Liverpool who might be robbed of their first title in 30 years.”

Liverpool supporters can express some relief now that their work will stand. The latest Premier League plan, with matches canceled through April 30th, threw out the idea of voiding the season. Awarding Liverpool the league title would have been the least controversial of the decisions made, with European spots and relegation still contested. The consensus to award Liverpool the title speaks to their dominance. In a twist of marketing fate, they could also win the league trophy wearing Nike jerseys. 

At least the top of the Premier League table has a definite answer. There is a seven point gap between first and second in Serie A, Bundesliga, and La Liga combined. Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales said flat-out that Barcelona would not be awarded the trophy if the season were canceled as is. La Liga president Javier Tebas timidly agreed, saying he would rather not consider awarding Barcelona the trophy over Real Madrid until he absolutely had to. And what is the significance of winning a league trophy in an unfinished season, anyway? 

Though there is a possibility, and after the past weeks spent under some form of lockdown, an optimism that the European leagues will return and finish their season. The carefully calibrated calendar opened back up with the European Championship moved back to 2021. Tebas, who predicted that all domestic leagues would resume in mid-May, said La Liga would eventually play out a full season. The Premier League added that the 2019-20 season would be “extended indefinitely” until completion, and that the 2020-21 season will not start until every last ball is kicked in this current one.

Other leagues joined in. The English Championship released a letter declaring that all clubs unanimously agreed to play out the year to “protect competition integrity.” Lost in the highlights, we may not have fully appreciated the sanctity of a season’s resolution, that there is an underlying integrity to seeing out every match regardless of its impact on the final table. Weeks earlier, we wondered if this Premier League season was boring due to Liverpool’s lead. Now, the public exultation of declaring that a season will finish is as much of an act of defiance as we have in our current world.  

The emphasis in completing a domestic season has provided some levity within the football order. The Champions League, and a potential European Super League, was the obsession of top clubs. We discussed the meaning of leagues dominated by one or two superpowers all gearing up for the knockout rounds in Europe. Instead, it’s the Champions League that looks likely to be sacrificed for the domestic game. Through its suspension, league play has come to symbolize something larger than football: a celebration of a return to normal life, an acknowledgement that the worst is behind us.    

Thus, throwing out dates for when the season could restart is as much for us at home as it is for club owners, players, and television broadcasters. It gives the sense of possibility and optimism, an end to the self-isolation even if matches are played without supporters. We could even gain a new appreciation for the domestic game having experienced a world without it, regardless of whether matches feature Liverpool, West Ham, or sides lower down the league. The Champions League provides the glamor, resources, and reach, but the countless clubs that make up a country’s footballing pyramid are the game’s backbone. Those matches may not be of the highest quality, but it is us, together, celebrating our perseverance.  

“I never even considered ending the football season here, because that would take away hope from the fans and send a negative message,” said Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina on his refusal to cancel the Serie A season. “Sport and football in particular represent a glimmer of hope that we can get back to normal.”

With player contracts expiring, June 30th was a soft deadline to finish the season. Depending on when leagues restart, there may be little break between the end of this season and the start of the next. We will see the immediate ramifications from this current season like the awarding of league winners, but other consequences, including the very existence of clubs and the potential restructuring of leagues, will unravel over years.

Ultimately, ending this season will denote the possibility of a new start in soccer, and even in  life. As Gravina added, “if football gets back on its feet, it means the country has defeated this damned virus.”

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There are other considerations as to why leagues are eager to finish a season. A KPMG study estimated that the top-5 leagues in Europe could lose up to $4.2 billion if the season is canceled, mostly in television revenue. The Premier League then would miss out on $1 billion of television revenue alone. Gravina estimated that Serie A would lose close to $750 million if they could not complete the season.

The lack of Premier League matches costs Sky in customer acquisition and falling advertising rates, in turn affecting wages and transfer funds. As we saw in other sports leagues, this is the year that television bit back. We were told that social media and streaming represented the future of sports. We see how vital television revenue is to a club’s existence in the Premier League as we head into another month without live sports (meanwhile, soccer players are juggling toilet paper in the latest meme). With matchday gate receipts making up the least amount of percentage in lost revenue for Premier League clubs, it is not only about finishing the season, but salvaging as many matches as possible on television. 

Maybe we’ve taken these moments without matches to reflect upon our relationship with sports in ways we always took for granted. It wasn’t always just about the result, was it? The background, interconnected cycle between matches, television, and revenue has also been made explicit as leagues scramble for solutions. There’s a cynical fear that leagues will return too early in order to fulfill various financial promises. But there is also an expectation that all parties will lose revenue this season, that we are in unprecedented times, thus the focus should instead turn to maintaining relationships for the long-term once matches return. Likewise, with or without the atmosphere and noise from supporters, we’ll tune in to move on as well.