Serie A and the Italian players' association reached an accord Tuesday for games to be played on Jan. 6, a move that could precede a larger settlement and avert a player's strike.
When the players' association announced last month that it was postponing a strike planned for Sept. 25-26 it also said it had reached a deal not to play Jan. 6, which is a holiday in Italy.
Serie A president Maurizio Beretta said that the players' agreement to restore the Jan. 6 games "was a very positive decision, and if there is the same good sense and same good will in the dealings over the collective contract then an accord could be reached in just a few weeks, by the end of November."
Gianni Grazioli, the secretary general for the players' association, said the footballers accepted to play the afternoon of the Epiphany "out of a sense of responsibility, without obtaining anything in exchange."
The player's have declared that that if a new contract is not settled by Nov. 30 the strike will go ahead.
Two items on the new proposed collective contract are still being debated - one clause that would prevent players from refusing transfers near the end of their contracts and another regarding out-of-contract players being kept from preseason training.
"Without these conditions it will be an automatic strike," players' association president Sergio Campana said last month.
The first opportunity for the strike to be carried out after Nov. 30 is Dec. 4 and 5, when five-time defending champion Inter Milan is scheduled to visit current leader Lazio.
