London 2012 Olympics set to delay Premier League football season kick-off

By James Toney, Sportsbeat

LONDON 2012 officials are confident the FA Premier League will delay the start of their 2012/2013 season to avoid a clash with the Olympic Games.

HAPPY MAN: Denis Oswald has declared himself happy upon his sixth visit to London as head of the IOC co-ordination commission (Getty Images)

The Olympics are due to conclude on Sunday 12th August 2012, the same weekend recently reserved for the start of league fixtures.

It is thought likely the traditional season curtain-raiser, the FA Community Shield, will now be played midweek with Premier League fixtures scheduled to start on Saturday August 18th.

However, it is possible the Community Shield may not be played at Wembley, if the venue - which will be used for men's and women's Olympic football finals - cannot be turned around in time from its Games mode.

"There is still work to do but that's quite normal two years before the Games but we are convinced and positive we will have an excellent Olympics in 2012 IOC inspector Denis Oswald

A condition of the host city contract with the International Olympic Committee forces organisers to work with other sporting bodies to ensure the Games takes place in an uncluttered calendar.

London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton has already held talks with officials at the England and Wales Cricket Board in a bid to ensure no international matches take place during the Games.

Counterparts at Delhi 2010, organisers of this October's Commonwealth Games, have struggled to reach similar agreements - with the BCCI, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, refusing to shift their previously scheduled matches.

"We have been in discussions with all the sports bodies responsible for sports schedules in 2012 and we are on track to meet our obligation," said Deighton.

Asked whether he was confident the Premier League would delay their season, he replied: ‘yes'.

Denis Oswald, the chief of the IOC's co-ordination commission, declared himself happy at the conclusion of his sixth inspection visit.

He hailed the ‘great progress' of the project but warned against complacency as organisers entered the ‘crucial period'.

"There is still work to do but that's quite normal two years before the Games but we are convinced and positive we will have an excellent Olympics in 2012," he said.