No training until May 25, English Football League tells clubs

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Coronavirus impact on the Premier League - Carrow Road, Norwich, Britain - March 14, 2020 General view of Carrow Road as the Premier League is suspended due to the number of coronavirus cases around the world Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra

LONDON (Reuters) - Clubs in the second to fourth tiers of English soccer should not return to training before May 25 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the English Football League (EFL) said on Wednesday.

The body, which governs the Championship, League One and League Two, met on Wednesday to address financial and operational matters resulting from COVID-19, adding that "the consequences of the pandemic will not be rectified simply by a return to play behind closed doors."