Zalgiris Kaunas officially asks to host the Final tournament of the EuroLeague
Zalgiris Kaunas officially requested to host the Final tournament of the EuroLeague.
Lithuania is set to host sporting events from May 30, so Zalgiris hope the remaining games will take place in the country.
Kaunas, along with Athens, Belgrade and Cologne, are considered the favorites to host the rest of the season.
The EuroLeague will make a decision by May 24. If the season resumes, then games will be played in July (4-26).
If everything goes according to plan, then preparation (quarantine, training sessions) will start from late May and will end on July 2.
Zalgiris Kaunas released an official statement to address the situation:
“The 25th of May is the date that EuroLeague has set as a deadline to take a decision on the continuation of the 2019-2020 season.
If the season were to be extended, the remaining battles of the competition would be played in a single country, selected by EuroLeague itself.
Among the candidates to carry out the remainder of the season is Lithuania. All the remaining regular season games and the Play-Offs would be played in Kaunas and Vilnius.
This decision is also endorsed by Saulius Skvernelis, the prime minister of the Republic of Lithuania, who addressed the EuroLeague with an official letter, providing arguments why our country should receive this right.
The prime minister noted that the government would do everything to address the well-being of the teams, players and other officials.
Zalgirio Arena is preparing for a possible resumption of the season and has remained in constant contact with EuroLeague, considering various technical and safety details.
Lithuania is one of the countries in Europe that has managed to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus and has already begun softening the quarantine period, with allowed organized sports activities from the 30th of May.
Already next Monday, all the Zalgiris players who’ve remained in Lithuania will be getting together for a practice.
Whether Zalgiris’ foreigners and Martinas Geben, who left for the US, will be joining the team, will be clear after EuroLeague makes its’ final decision on the ending of the season.”