Government Give Green Light to Project Restart While Calling for Games to Be Free-to-Air

The UK government has thrown its support behind the Premier League and EFL returning in June but have called for matches to be free-to-air.

The ambitious Project Restart hopes to get football going again on in around a month's time but the government had remained coy over supporting the plans until now.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has declared that he supported football's resumption - as long as some games were available to view for people without BT Sport or Sky television subscriptions.

"The Government is opening the door for competitive football to return safely in June," Dowden said, as quoted by the Mirror.

"This should include widening access for fans to view live coverage and ensure finances from the game's resumption supports the wider football family.”

Dowden chaired a positive meeting with the chief executives of the Premier League, EFL and Football Association on Thursday. The three bodies have now been given the green light by the government to press on with their plans to restart football across the country.

“It is now up to the football authorities to agree and finalise the detail of their plans,” Dowden added.

“There is combined goodwill to achieve this for their fans, the football community and the nation as a whole.

“The Government and our medical experts will continue to offer guidance and support to the game ahead of any final decision which would put these plans into action."

Even with the government's backing, a key stumbling block for Project Restart is the apparent unwillingness of large swathes of players to return to action while the COVID-19 threat looms large.

Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose have both been vocal in their criticism of plans for football's return next month and these sentiments are thought to be echoed by many other Premier League stars.