Seoul (South Korea): The South Korean professional football clubs played practice matches on Tuesday as their league inches closer to opening the season that has been delayed for nearly two months by the coronavirus, the K-League said.
The season is delayed by two months so far over the coronavirus epidemic.
There are 12 teams in the top-flight K League 1 and 10 more in the K League 2. The K League 1 season was slated to kick off on Feb. 29, but with the coronavirus raging, the league office postponed it indefinitely five days prior to the original start date.
Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the COVID-19 pandemic outside China PR, but appears to have brought it under control thanks to its extensive “trace, test and treat” programme.
The outbreak had prompted sports leagues to suspend or delay their seasons across the country.
“This is the news we’ve been waiting for,” one club official told Yon Hap News in response to the K League’s announcement. “We’ll be in touch with other teams tomorrow to try to schedule some matches.”
Sports fans around the world have been starved of live action because of the virus, with broadcasters resorting to repeats of matches from past years.
The Korean Professional Football League responded late Monday, announcing that its clubs would be allowed to play practice matches against each other from Tuesday.
