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Life without soccer: News and updates for Tuesday, March 17

The 2020 Euro’s are postponed, there’s more USWNT lawsuit filings, and Abby Erceg has an intense home workout.

Every day MLS, the NWSL and the USL are suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pro Soccer USA will provide the latest news and updates, examples of what the soccer community is doing to pass time and some recommendations for readers to keep busy while hunkering down at home.

The latest

UEFA made the call Tuesday morning to postpone the 2020 European Championship until 2021. Qualifying was originally supposed to conclude this month and the 24-team tournament was going to be played this summer across 12 European cities. According to Sky Sports, UEFA made the decision after having a conference call with its 55 member associations. According to a tweet from the Norwegian FA, the tournament will now happen between June 11 and July 11 of 2021.

According to several reports, the 2020 Copa America tournament has also been postponed to 2021. The International Olympic Committee released a statement Tuesday saying that they are “fully committed” to still holding the Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo.

Late Monday night, representatives for the United States women’s national team and the U.S. soccer federation filed their latest round of back-and-forth arguments in an ongoing discrimination lawsuit. This is the first round of filings from either side since Carlos Cordeiro resigned from his post as president of the federation last week. Former national team player Cindy Parlow Cone is the acting president now and she released a statement calling last week’s filings — which many deemed to be sexist — an “error” and a “fundamental breakdown.”

Pro Soccer USA’s Julia Poe has an in-depth look at the filings and Parlow Cone’s statement.

Elsewhere in women’s soccer, new NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird penned a letter Tuesday morning, updating fans on where the league is regarding postponements and the coronavirus. Baird said tickets purchased for any game that may be postponed will be honored when the game is rescheduled, as long as the match is open to the public. The NWSL canceled its preseason games last week and suspended training for this week.

Around town

How are NWSL players staying fit while training is suspended? A few different players are getting creative.

North Carolina Courage captain and centerback Abby Erceg has formed a home workout plan. She’s a knowledgeable fitness fanatic and her Instagram is full of exercises, routines and advice. Workouts like hers are how you become a three-time NWSL Best XI selection, apparently.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9y_54SplY_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Meanwhile, Chicago Red Stars midfielder Yuki Nagasato is staying fit in her home by playing wall-ball. She led the NWSL in assists last season.

She’s staying fit and happy by dancing, too.

Utah Royals midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta is practicing her dribbling skills with… toilet paper? Yes.

This is a challenge among soccer players going around the internet. New York Red Bulls winger Kaku got in on the action too.

https://twitter.com/kakuromero17/status/1239752113560989696?s=20

Orlando City SC’s Nani joined in, too.

Keeping busy

If you’re looking for something to watch to take your mind off the virus, or something to distract you while working from home, here’s a few ideas.

MLS put the full replay of a March 7 match between Columbus Crew SC and the Seattle Sounders on YouTube.

If you’re an ESPN+ subscriber, you can watch the network’s entire library of 30 for 30 sports documentaries at any time. Among the soccer selections are:

  • “The ’99ers” – an inside look at the 1999 U.S. women’s World Cup team.
  • “George Best: All By Himself” – the rise and fall of Best, who scored more than 130 goals in the EPL.
  • “The Two Escobars” – on the connections between a soccer star and a drug lord.
  • “Hillborough” – an examination of a tragedy at a stadium in Sheffield, England.

Additionally, a 16-minute short documentary from Spike Lee on Howard University soccer in the early 1970s can be watched without a subscription on ESPN.

If you need to take a break from screen time, print this out and give yourself a coloring session.

If coloring isn’t your thing, how about Legos?