Football: Premier League clubs agree to start football in June

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool competing with Jack Simpson of AFC Bournemouth during their Premier League match. Photo / Getty Images

Premier League clubs have agreed to restart the season in just three weeks' time in what is a huge breakthrough for their Project Restart plans.

The Premier League have desperately been trying to finalise plans to get the season back underway again following its suspension at the beginning of March amid the coronavirus crisis.

The weekend of June 20 has been lined up as the first full round of fixtures following the Premier League's resumption although Manchester City vs Arsenal and Aston Villa vs Sheffield United are set to go ahead on Wednesday, June 17.

These two matches are the "games in hand" for these four clubs, which will take all 20 Premier League teams up to 29 fixtures for the season.

Another game may be played on Friday, June 19, with Sportsmail previously reporting that Tottenham vs Manchester United could be set for that slot, but the first full round of fixtures will start on Saturday, June 20, with matches staggered across the weekend.

In total, there are 92 matches remaining in the season.

The Premier League confirmed the news on Thursday evening following the conclusion of the league's Shareholders' meeting.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said in a statement: "Today we have provisionally agreed to resume the Premier League on Wednesday 17 June. But this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all participants and supporters is our priority.

It’s coming back, it’s coming back, it’s coming, football’s coming back. June 17 💥

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 28, 2020

"Sadly, matches will have to take place without fans in stadiums, so we are pleased to have come up with a positive solution for supporters to be able to watch all the remaining 92 matches.

"The Premier League and our clubs are proud to have incredibly passionate and loyal supporters. It is important to ensure as many people as possible can watch the matches at home.

"We will continue to work step-by-step and in consultation with all our stakeholders as we move towards resuming the 2019-20 season."

GOOD NEWS! Premier League re-starting on June 17.
BAD NEWS! First game back is Arsenal away to Man City.
This all feels too early to me, let's not rush back into things...

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 28, 2020

Premier League Shareholders also approved a proposal that would see all 92 remaining matches broadcast live in the UK by the League's existing broadcast partners: Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport and Amazon Prime.

The planned kick-off times in the UK for live matches will also differ from the traditional times.

Former England forward and BBC Match of the Day host Gary Lineker was among those who tweeted their delight at football's return.

But Arsenal fan Piers Morgan was more apprehensive that their first fixture back was against high-flying Manchester City.

Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane expressed his joy, tweeting: "Football is back soon" and a muscle emoji.