Berlin (dpa) – Do most football stadiums have to remain almost empty or does politics allow a partial opening again? Right at the beginning of the week, clubs and fans are hoping for a concession when it comes to the spectator question.
However, there will be no game next weekend in the Bundesliga – the transfer final sprint and the cup draw will bring things to talk about.
Policy Summit:
In the midst of the violent omicron wave with high numbers of infections, the federal and state governments will once again discuss further corona measures on Monday. Professional sport has once again increased its demands for a relaxation of spectator rules. In a joint letter to the Chancellery and the Prime Ministers, the top leagues called for a return to location-based concepts. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) announced that he wanted to advertise a “clear” and “substantial” signal for a return of viewers at the political summit.
Bundesliga break:
For the World Cup qualification on other continents, Europe’s top leagues are taking a short break. This is quite convenient for many a club that is in poor form, in order to work against the crisis with friendlies or, like VfB Stuttgart, even with a training camp in Marbella. Elsewhere, professionals should have a few days off to regenerate or treat injuries. “It will be an intense time that we will use,” said Borussia Dortmund coach Marco Rose.
Africa Cup:
Defending champions Algeria and heavyweight Ghana are already out. Now the round of 16 is the decisive phase in the African championship. The surprise team of the Comoros is fighting the consequences of a corona wave in the team before the knockout game against hosts Cameroon on Monday (8 p.m.). A real top game is on Wednesday (5:00 p.m.) with the duel between Ivory Coast and Egypt for Liverpool’s Mo Salah.
Draw:
Shortly before the Winter Games in Beijing, former alpine star Felix Neureuther briefly changes subjects again. In the draw for the quarter-finals in the DFB Cup, the ARD winter sports expert draws the balls in the “Sportschau” on Sunday (7:15 p.m.). There are four second division teams in the pot. The Bundesliga is represented by Union Berlin, SC Freiburg, RB Leipzig and VfL Bochum. Record winner FC Bayern and defending champion Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, have already failed.
Transfer final sprint:
The managers of the Bundesliga have one week left to make squad corrections. The winter changeover period ends on January 31st. The transfer market hasn’t really got going yet. In Corona times, hardly anyone wants to spend a lot of money, especially not in the middle of the season. The fact that FC Augsburg transferred around 13 million euros to FC Dallas for Ricardo Pepi and thus made a record purchase is an exception. Otherwise, rental shops and the hope for last-minute bargains dominate.