As was reported earlier, Serie A Femminile was on the brink of getting canceled. That is until the combined forces of the women’s division managed to salvage it at the last minute.
It took some creative maneuvering, but the league was pulled back from the brink and lived to see another day.
Last week, sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora confirmed that Serie A would resume on June 20th. Though there were reports that he had also confirmed that Serie A Femminile will resume in July, an official announcement on the matter was still missing from the FIGC.
Instead, we’ll have to wait until June 4th for an official announcement from the federation.
During that meeting, the federation will meet with the teams to see if there are enough resources available to restart the league.
We have gotten a lot of hints from the federation’s officials that they are working on restarting the league.
On Saturday, FIGC president Gabriel Gravina has said that he wants Serie A Femminile to finish the season, as it would be ‘a great way’ to cap off the movement.
‘[...] For women’s football, we want the tournament to finish, and perhaps it will start again in early July. It would be a moment of great celebration, one of both respect and equal dignity for the whole movement.’
Ludovica Mantovani, the president of the women’s division, has also confirmed that the FIGC is working on restarting the league.
‘We are working on an ‘ad hoc’ protocol [revising the current health guidelines], which does not mean that it will be different in terms of safety but we need to adapt to our needs [and adjust] the health guidelines in relation to the men’s clubs. It will be drawn up, evaluated by the CTS [Scientific and Technical Committee], and then submitted to the sports minister, just like the ones for the men.’
The ‘ad hoc’ protocols for the women would be on par with the current guidelines for the men. The reformed guidelines would allow the women to safely resume the season in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. They would also acknowledge the fact that some of the women’s teams can’t afford to pay for everything they need to guarantee the safety of their players and staff.
Therefore, they would need assistance in this regard, and there might be at least €10 million in funding available for them.
The newly drawn up protocols, along with whether there is enough money to finish the season, will be discussed during Thursday’s meeting. If they are approved, then Serie A Femminile will resume and finish the season.
If the championship does get the green light to resume, then it will most likely be played between July 11th and August 9th, as per Donne Nel Pallone. The Coppa Italia might be played shortly afterward.
We are getting more and more hints that the FIGC is working towards resuming the league and come next Thursday, we’ll know what their final verdict on the matter will be.