Lancashire [UK], June 1 (ANI): The English Football League (EFL) on Monday set June 20 as the provisional restart date for the Championship.

"Following Saturday's announcement by the Government to allow elite sporting events to return behind closed doors, the EFL has this weekend agreed to a provisional restart date of the weekend of 20 June 2020 for matches in the Championship," EFL said in a statement.

However, the date is subject to the strict proviso that all safety requirements and government guidance is met; and that clubs receive clearance from their local authorities in order to stage matches at their home grounds.

"After discussing various approaches, and, the importance of completing the season in a similar timeline to that of the Premier League to avoid any potential issues with promoted and relegated clubs, the Championship season is set to conclude with the Championship Play-Off Final on or around 30 July 2020," the statement read.

EFL further stated that during the weekend's discussions, it was further agreed to consider changing Regulations to permit the use of five substitutes in the remaining fixtures and, also increasing the matchday squad from 18 to 20 players.

EFL Chair Rick Parry said: "With Championship Clubs set to return to full-contact training later this week and following Saturday's Government announcement, we are edging closer towards resuming the 2019/20 EFL season. We have therefore today consulted with the Board's Championship Directors and agreed to fixtures restarting behind closed doors on 20 June.""...We must stress that at this stage the date is only provisional and will only be confirmed once we have met all the requirements, as the health, safety and well-being of all participants, staff and supporters remains our top priority," he added. (ANI)