Coronavirus: Here's what happened in the sports world on Friday

The latest on how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting sports around the globe:

• Olympic flame lands in Japan as doubts grow over Games
• Justin Trudeau weighs in on Olympic postponement question
• USA Swimming pushes for Olympic postponement 
• U.S. Olympic committee says too soon to decide about Tokyo Games
• XFL ends inaugural season
• B.C. rugby tournament postponed
• National Women's Soccer League delays season
• Canadian Premier League postpones start of 2020 season 
• UEFA says Euros played in 2021 will still be Euro 2020

Justin Trudeau weighs in on Olympic postponement question

Amid growing questions and concerns around the Tokyo 2020 Olympics moving forward in the backdrop of uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it's all dependent "on the situation in Japan and around the world."

During his daily press briefing, Trudeau was asked specifically if he believes Canadian athletes should go to the Olympics if they are not called off.

"I think that's an important question that many athletes and coaches and family members are asking themselves," Trudeau told reporters outside of his official residence.

"I have heard directly from Prime Minister Abe that he is intent on continuing to hold these Olympics. I congratulate him for that decision."

Olympic flame lands in Japan as doubts grow over Tokyo Games

The Olympic flame on Friday completed its difficult journey from Greece to Japan.

That signified a small, symbolic victory for the IOC and local organizers, who maintain the Tokyo Olympics will open on July 24 amid a chorus of doubters who believe they should be postponed or cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"For the first time in 56 years, the Olympic torch is heading to Tokyo and I hope that the Olympic torch will illuminate the path of hope for many people," organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said at a scaled-down arrival ceremony at an air base in northern Japan.

Mori of course was referring to Tokyo's famous 1964 Olympics. Tokyo was also to have been the venue for the 1940 Olympics, which were cancelled by World War II.

USA Swimming pushes for Olympic postponement

USA Swimming's CEO is urging the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to push for the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics until next year.

Tim Hinchey wrote to USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland to advocate on behalf of his governing body's 400,000 members.

Hinchey said athletes' worlds have been turned "upside down" as they struggle to find ways to continue preparing and training for the games. He wrote that "pressing forward amidst the global health crisis this summer is not the answer."

Because of the disruptions in training, Hinchey said going ahead with the Olympics this year "calls into question the authenticity of a level playing field for all."

U.S. Olympic committee says too soon to decide about Tokyo Games

Leaders of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee say it's still too soon to decide about whether the Tokyo Games should go on as scheduled.

Uncertainties caused by the coronavirus have pushed many athletes to call for a postponement of the Games. But the USOPC leaders sounded a lot like their colleagues at the IOC. They call for patience and say they need more information from world health experts before doing anything drastic. They also acknowledged the uncertainty is taking its toll.

The USOPC is increasing the availability of mental and emotional counselling for athletes who have seen their Olympic hopes thrown into limbo.

XFL ends inaugural season

The XFL has cancelled the remainder of its return season because of the new coronavirus pandemic.

The league played five games of a 10-game regular season in eight cities. It was a revival of the XFL that played one season in 2001.

Commissioner Oliver Luck released a statement saying the league had "no choice but to officially cancel the remainder of the 2020 season. This decision has been made with the health and safety of the entire XFL family as our top priority."

"While we are disappointed to not complete the 2020 season," Luck added, "our hearts are full of appreciation for your overwhelming support."

NWSL delays start of season

The National Women's Soccer League is delaying the start of the regular season because of the coronavirus.

The league announced Friday that it is imposing a moratorium on training through April 5, following the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because of that, the season will not start as planned on April 18.

The NWSL has not announced when the season might start. The league had already cancelled its preseason matches.

"We are considering all possible implications for the preseason and regular season schedules while prioritizing the health and safety of our players, staff and fans," the league said in a statement.

Browns' Ogunjobi donates meals for kids, Giants fund daycare program

Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi is donating 100,000 meals to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to help school children who might otherwise go hungry during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ogunjobi said in a posting on Twitter that his donation is intended for kids who typically rely on schools to provide some of their meals.

"Many of these kids, due to the school closings, are no longer getting the meals they depend on from day to day," Ogunjobi said. "No impact is too big or small. I encourage you to join me as well as many others as we help those in our time of need."

The New York Giants are funding a new program at the Meadowlands YMCA to provide childcare at no cost to emergency response personnel for the next 10 weeks.

The Meadowlands YMCA has continued to operate its daycare program in consultation with the Bergen County Department of Health, Hudson Regional Hospital and Hackensack University Medical Center for the children of essential personnel during the COVID-19 crisis. The new funding allows the YMCA to expand the program to up to 42 children.

B.C. rugby 7s tournament postponed

World Rugby has postponed the women's sevens tournament in Langford, B.C., as well as men's events in London and Paris due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Rugby's governing body has also cancelled the World Rugby under-20 Championship, scheduled for late June and July in northern Italy — one of the areas hardest hit by the virus.

The Olympic Games repechage qualification tournament scheduled for June is "under review."

Canada has already qualified its men's and women's teams for the Tokyo Games. The postponements means there are no men's or women's sevens tournaments on the schedule in advance of the Olympics

English rugby in turmoil as season cancelled below top flight

English rugby was plunged into financial turmoil and uncertainty on Friday after the season was cancelled at all levels below the top-flight Premiership because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Rugby Football Union executives are in "active discussions" with Premiership teams about how to manage the end of the season, while still not knowing when play can be resumed amid a shutdown of sport in the country.

The cancellation of the season affects all league, cup and county rugby in England except for the Premiership, which has been suspended for five weeks and still has nine games to play in the regular season. The final round of fixtures are scheduled for June 6, with the Premiership final planned for two weeks later.

Aussies seek "fair play" from Olympic organizers in pandemic

Australia's swimmers are more concerned about a level playing field than ruling the pool at the Olympics.

Swimming has been a regular source of medals at the Olympics and world championships for Australia, where the climate, location and relatively high number of Olympic-size pools is an advantage, but not an insurmountable one.

"At the heart of the Olympic and Paralympic competition is the notion of fair play — a value we hold very close, and we do not want that to be compromised," the statement continued. "We know athlete preparation is being severely compromised. Friendship and solidarity are important Olympic and Paralympic values and we stand with you in this time of uncertainty."

"We are still preparing for the Olympics and Paralympics to the best of our ability but we absolutely understand that for a lot of our peers and colleagues this isn't the reality anymore, as it may not be for us soon," Swimming Australia said in a release co-signed by head coach Jacco Verhaeren on Friday, not long after Olympic flame from Greece landed in Japan.

The key theme? It would be fairer to postpone the Olympics.

No Olympic qualifying events left for badminton players

The last chances for badminton players to qualify for the Olympics were suspended on Friday because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Five tournaments scheduled in April were called off, including the European Championships in Kyiv, Ukraine; the Asia Championships in Manila, Philippines; and the Pan Am Individual Championships in Lima, Peru. The Asians and Pan Ams had already been relocated once.

All three continental championships were to finish on April 26, the last day of the year-long Olympic qualifying period.

The Badminton World Federation has yet to say how its mothballed circuit will impact on qualification for the Tokyo Games.

The last ranking tournament completed was last Sunday, the All England Open in Birmingham, England.

Canadian Premier League postpones start of 2020 season 

The Canadian Premier League has postponed the start of the 2020 season, with no replacement kickoff date as of yet.

The Canadian pro league was set to start its second season on April 11.

The league said it was following Canada Soccer's decision to suspend all sanctioned soccer activities — and COVID-19 directives by governments and health officials banning public gatherings.

Commissioner David Clanachan said the league will start the season when it is declared safe by the relevant health and government agencies, including Canada Soccer.

The CPL put a 14-day on all pre-season training last Friday. Players with expansion Atletico Ottawa, who had been training in Spain at parent club Atletico Madrid, have since returned and are now in self-isolation.

Germany leads the way on soccer salary cuts as virus hits

European soccer's biggest leagues continue to be suspended and players are coming under pressure to take pay cuts.

Sometimes it's voluntary, like at German title challenger Borussia Mönchengladbach, where players approached the club with an offer to take reduced salaries.

Sometimes players aren't given a choice. In Scotland, Hearts has asked all its players and other fulltime employees to accept a 50 per cent pay cut, or contract termination.

The cuts come as clubs across Europe grapple with a sudden shortage of funds. Wage bills for the season were budgeted on the expectation of income from TV broadcast fees, sponsorships and ticket sales, which are all being scaled back.

Germany is leading the way on voluntary cuts.

The German league has said clubs could collapse if the season doesn't resume. It's arguing for games in empty stadiums so broadcast and sponsor deals resume to mitigate the financial impact.

LPGA moves ANA to September

The LPGA Tour has found a date for its first major championship. It is moving the ANA Inspiration to Sept. 10-13, and moving its Portland tournament a week later.

The ANA Inspiration was scheduled for April 2-5 in Rancho Mirage, California. It was among what now are six domestic LPGA Tour events that have been postponed because of the new coronavirus. LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan added three more on Friday — Hawaii, Los Angeles and San Francisco over the final three weeks of April.

Whan says the tour is working with its various partners on how to deal with postponed events.

The LPGA Tour's last event was the Women's Australian Open that ended Feb. 16.