EFL make key decision as Sunderland and League One clubs wait goes on

The Premier League announced on Thursday that play is due to return on June 17 following the coronavirus suspension in mid-March and the EFL has followed suit announcing the Championship is set to restart around the same time.

The crunch vote on whether to resume or curtail the League One campaign, however, won’t take place until Monday June 8, with clubs in limbo for another week.

Clubs in the third tier are divided over how they want the season to conclude, with Sunderland strong in their stance that it should be completed.

However, there is a large number of clubs in favour of curtailment due to financial pressures of restarting, testing and bringing staff and players off the furlough scheme.

The Championship, however, is set to resume later this month.

Boro – who confirmed on Saturday they had one positive Covid-19 test following the latest round of testing with the individual now self-isolating – returned to training last week.

The EFL said: "Following Saturday's announcement by the Government to allow elite sporting events to return behind closed doors, the EFL has this weekend agreed to a provisional restart date of the weekend of 20 June 2020 for matches in the Sky Bet Championship.

"The date is subject to the strict proviso that all safety requirements and Government guidance is met; and that clubs receive clearance from their local authorities in order to stage matches at their home grounds.

"After discussing various approaches, and, the importance of completing the season in a similar timeline to that of the Premier League to avoid any potential issues with promoted and relegated clubs, the Sky Bet Championship season is set to conclude with the Championship play-off final on or around 30 July 2020.

"Final details are still to be confirmed following further discussions with the League's Broadcast partner, Sky Sports."

The EFL also revealed that it will consider the use of five substitutes in the remaining fixtures and increasing the matchday squad from 18 to 20 players, with discussions "to continue with Championship clubs in this respect".

EFL chair Rick Parry said: "Whilst matches will unfortunately have to take place without supporters, we are working with our broadcast partners, EFL Championship clubs and all relevant stakeholders to broadcast the remaining 108 games plus Sky Bet Championship play-offs either live on Sky Sports, iFollow or a club's equivalent streaming service.

"We must stress that at this stage the date is only provisional and will only be confirmed once we have met all the requirements, as the health, safety and well-being of all participants, staff and supporters remains our top priority.”