NFL monitoring return of German soccer amid coronavirus pandemic

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The NFL will be keeping its eye on the Bundesliga when Germany's top soccer league returns to action Saturday after initially shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to similarities between the sports - such as stadium size, the number of players on the field, and the proximity of those athletes to one another - the NFL will be interested to see how the Bundesliga can resume play in a safe manner.

"We're looking at eventually 90 players for training camp, which is quite different from other sports," NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy said to Bob Glauber of Newsday. "There are some commonalities, and that's why we've had a number of people from our staff - from (NFL chief medical officer) Dr. Allen Sills and (NFL vice president of health and safety policy) Jeff Miller - on calls with other sports leagues.

"We're looking at what we can adopt, what we can modify that is working in other sports, sharing best practices."

The Bundesliga will be the first professional sports league in Europe or North America to resume after COVID-19 forced cancellations and postponements beginning in March.

The league will not allow fans in the stands when it resumes. Meanwhile, the NFL released its 2020 schedule on Thursday and is hoping to begin the campaign on Sept. 10.

The first order of business, however, will be to reopen team facilities, McCarthy said. Last week, the NFL laid out protocols that each franchise must implement by May 15 in order for their facilities to open soon after.

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