Although there are signs of a slowing of the spread of the coronavirus in Italy, in keeping with the most recent decree by the Italian government, the Italian Federation of American Football, FIDAF, (Federazione Italiana Di American Football), has further postponed making a decision on the future of the 2020 season until at least April 13.
According to a statement by the Italian President of the Council of Ministers, the suspension of all activities will be extended until after Easter. The federation had previously postponed the start of Italy’s top league, Division I, until March 21 at the earliest, but, even with a slight abatement, given the vicious spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19 in Italy, a resumption of activities could obviously not be considered. This also included the other two Italian American Football Leagues, the Second Division and the CIF9 (third division).
“This time, given the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games, there will be no exceptions even for high-level athletes in Olympic training and, much less, for all the other professionals and non-professionals: Training sessions have been suspended, in all inside and outdoor sports facilities of all kinds.”
The FIDAF states that although the goal is to find a way to play this season and that the federation is considering every possible scenario, as officially announced on March 5, they must abide by the decision of the government and the health officials in Italy.
Current coronavirus situation in Italy
Italy has been the country hit the hardest by COVID-19. As of April 2, there were 115,242 cases of the coronavirus registered and a total of 13,915 deaths. With a population of 60.5 million people, this works out to 230 deaths per one million people, the highest ratio in the world.