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

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

• Track body sets up fund to help athletes through pandemic
• Hlinka Gretzky Cup set for August in Edmonton cancelled
• MLB letting teams decide on ticket refunds
• Spanish pro athletes set to resume training next week
• NASCAR targets May 17 return in South Carolina
• Korea baseball closing in on deal with ESPN to televise games
• French government calls off soccer, rugby seasons

World Athletics sets up fund to help athletes

Athletes in track and field can apply for money from a $500,000 US fund to help them get through the coronavirus pandemic.

World Athletics and the International Athletics Foundation have launched the fund to help athletes who have lost income because competitions are suspended.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says the fund will try "to help as many athletes as possible."

It's unclear when or if the track season can begin. Diamond League meets and the Olympics have been postponed.

Coe says the fund was the idea of 1,500-metre world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj. The Moroccan runner will be part of the team examining applications from athletes.

Hlinka Gretzky Cup U18 hockey tourney cancelled

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup, a tournament featuring the world's top under-18 male hockey players, has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The eight-country tournament was scheduled for Aug. 3-8 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.

Many players don't participate in the International Ice Hockey Federation's men's world under-18 championship in April because it conflicts with playoffs in their respective leagues, so the Hlinka Gretzky Cup is an important tournament for NHL scouts.

Canada has won 10 of the last 12 tournaments, but fell 3-2 to Russia in last year's final in Breclav, Czech Republic.

Edmonton and Red Deer are also the host cities of the 2021 world under-20 men's championship scheduled to open Dec. 26.

MLB allowing teams to decide on refunds individually

Major League Baseball told teams on Tuesday they could decide their own ticket refund policies.

Spring training was suspended on March 12 and the regular season was delayed from its scheduled March 26 start because of the new coronavirus pandemic.

A revised schedule has not been announced, and teams had treated the missed games as postponements and not announced refund policies.

Two fans sued MLB, the 30 teams and ticket companies last week in federal court in Los Angeles, seeking refunds. The suit asks for class-action status.

Tour de France could start with limited crowd

The Tour de France may have to limit spectators during the first days of the race in order to comply with a ban on major events gathering more than 5,000 people before September, the French sports ministry said.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that major sporting and cultural events bringing together more than 5,000 participants could not be held before September as he announced plans for a gradual end of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown from May 11.

Philippe did not specifically mention the Tour de France, which has been postponed to Aug. 29-Sept. 20 from its original June 27 start date.

"It is too early to say [how this will impact the Tour] but for now this does not imply a postponement nor a cancellation, but it does not rule out arrangements notably in terms of number of spectators," a sports ministry spokeswoman said.

The Tour is the biggest event on road cycling's calendar and the sport's most lucrative race by far. It was originally scheduled to take place from June 27-July 19.

Pro athletes to begin training in Spain

Soccer players in Spain will be allowed to resume individual training next week, putting the Spanish league on track to restart sometime in June.

The Spanish government on Tuesday revealed a four-phase plan to get the country back to "a new normal" following the coronavirus outbreak, allowing all professional athletes to return to individual training on Monday, several weeks after sports events were halted in the hard-hit southern European nation.

The announcement came on the same day the French government banned all major sporting events until September, ending the country's soccer season.

In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said "basic" training for professional athletes will be permitted beginning Monday, at the start of the first phase of the plan aimed at easing the lockdown measures that have been in place since March 14.

Sanchez did not say when sports competitions are expected to resume, but La Liga had been contemplating a period of training of about a month before it could restart.

NASCAR aims for May 17 return at Darlington

NASCAR sent teams a schedule for the next two months that starts with a return to racing on May 17 at Darlington, S.C., Autoweek reported on Tuesday.

The race would be one of five in May and among four held near most of the NASCAR team's home bases to restart the 2020 schedule.

NASCAR officials said in March when the season was suspended that their goal would be to complete the season. Initial thoughts focused on getting the season rolling in Texas with one or two events.

South Carolina has relaxed coronavirus restrictions and Charlotte, N.C., is following suit. Charlotte will host the third and fourth races after the return to racing.

It is expected NASCAR initially will operate without live pit stops, reducing the number of team pit crew members by at least five.

Korea baseball nears deal with ESPN to televise games: report

Live professional baseball games could be televised in the United States as early next week, with South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reporting Monday that ESPN and the Korea Baseball Organization are nearing an agreement.

KBO games could be broadcast on the cable network as early as May 5, when the season is set to start. The KBO season was scheduled to begin in late March, but has been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A deal between ESPN and KBO reportedly fell apart last week when the network offered a percentage of revenue from broadcasts but no up-front payment.

The KBO season will start without fans in the stands. According to Daniel Kim of South Korea's MBC Sports, the plan is to gradually allow an audience back into stadiums starting with stands filled at 20 or 25 per cent of capacity before increasing from that point.

French government says soccer, rugby seasons off

The French government says the rest of the soccer and rugby seasons won't be completed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says "the 2019-20 season of professional sport … won't be able to resume."

The top two divisions in French soccer both had 10 league games left to play. Rugby's Top 14 league had reached the semifinal stage.

France is expected to end its lockdown on May 11.

French rugby to support amateur clubs

The French Rugby Federation has announced a support package worth 35 million euros ($38 million US) to help ease the financial concerns of its amateur clubs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Amateur rugby competitions in France were cancelled for the season on March 27 after strict social measures were put in place to deal with the outbreak.

The FFR has now arranged a package that will see $15 million go to clubs to cover losses and fees for this season and a further $22.5 million for the 2020-21 season. It means they will not have to pay for such things as insurance costs and license fees.

Rugby officials are waiting to see what rules the government sets out following the end of lockdown before definitively deciding if a resumption is possible in the country's top league.

End of Argentine soccer season to be ratified

The end of the Argentine league soccer season is expected to be ratified by the national association executive committee.

AFA president Claudio Tapia says there will be no relegation until 2022 to ease club finances burdened by the coronavirus pandemic and end of player contracts on June 30 will be honoured.

Boca Juniors won the title shortly before the AFA suspended all soccer on March 15. How teams qualify for the 2021 Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana is also to be resolved.

Tapia tells TNT Sports "everyone wants to play again when we can, and if we have to play in January because we couldn't do it earlier in the year, we will."