hub criteria?

[firparkUSA]

Seen reports of using hubs for staging games.
Not sure how that will be received or work within consideration of "sporting integrity", a term that I cringe at every time I see it now.

Does anyone know what the criteria is for choice of hub locations?

Any arrangement that gifts some teams to play at their own home "hub" and others to always play away doesn't seem quite equitable for a league. Unless, teams are not allowed to play at their own stadium, but that's not what I see reading in the daily record story.

I question how the playing surface is going to hold up with such a concentrated number of matches being played.

Also confusing how concentrating matches in these hubs helps minimize risk of the virus.

[jwok]

You won't be alone with those questions. There's a long, long way to go yet.

I just watched the German league games play in empty stadia. The huge Dortmund v Schalke derby seemed much poorer fare with no crowd.

[Handsome_Devil]

Strongly suspect the hub thing is just going down on paper to show we looked at all alternatives before playing behind closed doors.

I think if it's your own team, the lack of crowd doesn't make so much difference but if you're a neutral or someone looking for entertainment it has a huge impact on the 'product' you're watching.

[LawSteelman]

Agreed, it just isn't the same watching a live match when there is no crowd inside the stadium. It has an eerie sensation about it when you can hear players shouting and it echoing around the empty ground. It's something we'll need to get used to when football eventually does return in some form though, as I don't see crowds being allowed in for a long, long time to come.

[sieb1886]

Agreed, it just isn't the same watching a live match when there is no crowd inside the stadium. It has an eerie sensation about it when you can hear players shouting and it echoing around the empty ground. It's something we'll need to get used to when football eventually does return in some form though, as I don't see crowds being allowed in for a long, long time to come.

Time for 'piped-in' crowd chants and songs ... along with cardboard cut-outs with real fans faces on the heids.