UK government culture secretary Oliver Dowden has said he hopes the Premier League can resume by mid-June. The teams have agreed to start non-contact training in small groups today. Dowden also said the league may show more matches on free-to-air television when it resumes, including matches played at 3pm on Saturday, which are usually not shown live in the UK – AFP/Reuters/Channel News Asia
UK pay-television broadcasters Sky and BT are discussing with the Premier League getting unprecedented access to changing rooms, technical area and tunnel, as part of plans to restart coverage. The broadcasters have proposed getting feeds of live audio from technical areas and footage from changing rooms and the tunnel – Daily Mail
Italian football’s Serie A will remain suspended until at least June 14, the Italian football federation has said. The league had been hoping to restart on June 13 – AFP/Channel News Asia
India’s cricketers “will not be rushed” back to training, even after the country on Sunday said it would reopen stadiums and sports facilities, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has said – Reuters/Channel News Asia
England’s Lancashire County Cricket Club has a “big growth plan” for India, its CEO Daniel Gidney has said, after announcing record profits for 2019. Gidney told Reuters: “We want to make Lancashire Cricket the second favourite team for all Indian fans. It is about raising our profile in India and obviously broadcast is a way to do that and we want to launch Lancashire TV and get as much Lancashire cricket content as we can broadcast in the sub-continent. That is very much part of our growth strategy.” – Reuters/Channel News Asia
The International Cricket Council is considering banning the use of saliva by players to shine cricket balls during games, as part of measures to combat Covid-19 – Reuters
South Korea’s men’s national golf championship has been cancelled for the first time in its 63-year history, due to the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in the country. The tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korea Golf Association, was due to take place on June 25-28 at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan – Yonhap
A partnership between Chinese football team Xi’an FC and the Shanxi Lingshi Guangjinbao Coal Industry Company has ended less than two weeks after it was announced. On May 7, the company said it had “invested in the club and will build a club for 100 years” – Sports Money
Chinese sports industry group Suning Sports has agreed a partnership with the China School Sports Federation to work on youth football development. As part of the agreement, Suning’s sports streaming platform PP Sports will show matches from the Chinese Schools Football Association Cup – Xinhua
The Chinese Basketball Association is building a Chinese basketball museum in Tianjin, the city where the sport was introduced to the country – Xinhua
Organisers of the Chengdu 2021 Fisu World University Games are running a global competition for creative ideas for their opening and closing ceremonies. Entrants must submit a written proposal by May 31, 2020, and the winners will get a chance to work with “a world-class director” – Fisu
The Association of National Olympic Committees and the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee have cancelled this year’s ANOC General Assembly in Seoul, Korea. It will be rescheduled in 2021 – Anoc
The International Federation of Sport Climbing is launching on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Douyin. The initiative is being led by the IFSC’s partners Yahao Sports, a Shanghai-based media production company, and Japan-based agencies Dentsu and Synca – IFSC