Premier League is returning June 17

The Premier League has been on pause since March but it's officially set to return on June 17, as "Project Restart" was officially approved during a shareholders meeting today.

ESPN reports that the Premier League will restart with Manchester City vs. Arsenal and Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United, which will make it so every club has played 29 games. The plan is for the Premier League to finish all games by Aug. 1 and the FA Cup final will take place on Aug. 8.

On March 13, the Premier League was halted due to the COVID-19 crisis, with 47 games remaining. Earlier this month, the German Bundesliga became the first major European league to play behind closed doors and currently, the league's safeguards and safety measures appear to have been effective. With their success, it appears other leagues are beginning to follow suit.

Currently, Liverpool sits far ahead at the top of the Premier League table, up 25 points over second-place Manchester City, while AFC Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City are in the relegation places.

The Premier League began testing players on May 17 and since then, 2,752 tests have been carried out, with only 12 people testing positive. In the next round of testing, each club will have their number of tests increased from 50 to 60. The United Kingdom government has approved sports resuming on June 1 behind closed doors.

“Squads are now able to train as a group and engage in tackling while minimizing any unnecessary close contact,” the league said in a statement.