It’s official, football fans: the Bundesliga season will restart next week.

The German government announced on Wednesday, 6 May, that Europe’s top major football league was given the greenlight to resume next Friday, 15 May.

In a video conference with its federal states, footballing stakeholders agreed that the 19/20 season in the Bundesliga and its second division would be permitted to continue, albeit behind closed doors due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Most teams still have nine matches to play, with the first game between Fortuna Dusseldorf and Paderborn kicking off the returning competition.

Germany’s testing capacity was cited as the main reason for allowing the resumption of the current season.However, protective measures are still needed, such as no match spectators.

The nation’s footballing came to a halt in mid-March when the pandemic first spiked. Germany currently has over 168 000 active cases of the contagion, and 7 275 people have lost their lives, leaving many nervous for the restart.