Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 4y

Barcelona, Real Madrid learn June dates for first matches back in La Liga

Barcelona will restart their La Liga campaign at Mallorca on June 13, the league confirmed on Sunday, with title rivals Real Madrid hosting Eibar the following day.

La Liga has been suspended since March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic but was given the go-ahead to return by the Spanish government last week.

The league will resume with the Seville derby between Sevilla and Real Betis on Thursday, June 11, at 10 p.m. CEST, before Barca travel to Mallorca on Saturday (10 p.m) and Madrid meet Eibar on Sunday (7.30 p.m).

Barca topped the table by two points when the league was halted, with Real Madrid in second place, nine points clear of third-placed Sevilla.

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Both teams will have to navigate 11 games in just over a month as they vie for the title, with La Liga hopeful of concluding the season by July 19, which would allow teams to then compete in the Champions League and Europa League in August if those competitions are able to be played.

Following the games against Mallorca and Eibar, Barca will welcome Leganes to Camp Nou (June 16, 10 p.m) and Madrid -- who will play home games at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium at their training ground due to construction work at the Santiago Bernabeu -- will host Valencia (June 18, 10 p.m).

Organisers have released only scheduling details for the first two rounds of fixtures, although La Liga chief Javier Tebas confirmed that there will be matches every day of the week until the season is completed on July 19.

Tebas also gave details of a planned tribute to those who have died from the pandemic, whereby fans will be encouraged to make audio recordings of themselves applauding the victims, which will then be transmitted in the stadium and broadcast on television in the 20th minute of each match.

"Fans make football so special, and as they cannot be in the stadiums, we have created this initiative so they can play a part in the return of the competition and show their support for the heroes of COVID-19," Tebas said.

"We want them to feel close to their clubs even though they will be in the stadiums making noise. This way, the players will also be able to hear the support of their fans."

Barca still have to travel to Sevilla and play Atletico Madrid at home, while Madrid have away games against Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao to come.

Matches will be played behind closed doors, following a strict safety protocol as prepared by La Liga and approved by the Ministry of Health, with kickoff times taking into account the soaring summer temperatures in the different parts of Spain.

Teams returned to individual training earlier in May and have been working in groups of up to 14 over the past week. From Monday, they have the government's permission to return to full training.

Information from Reuters was used in this story.

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