Dushanbe: Football competitions in Tajikistan will be temporarily halted from Monday till May 10, after the Tajikistan Football Federation (TFF) announced a nationwide suspension on Saturday evening.
The move, aimed at helping prevent the COVID-19 outbreak in the Central Asian country, means the top-level Tajikistan Football League will be put on hiatus until May 10, following the conclusion of the fourth round of fixtures on Sunday.
With no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the nation, Tajikistan’s championship had been one of a few active competitions in Asian football.
A TFF statement, released at the conclusion of Saturday’s two league matches, said: “The Tajikistan Football Federation fully supports the decisions of the Republican headquarters for the prevention of coronavirus COVID-19 in the country adopted today regarding the temporary suspension of public and sports events in order to protect the health and safety of the population.
“In this regard, the Tajikistan Football Federation decided to suspend all football sporting events held under the auspices of the organisation, including competitions organised or conducted by the Leagues and regional football federations.
“Note that Sunday’s matches of the fourth round of the championship of Tajikistan among the teams of the Major League will be held according to the calendar.
“Starting from the fifth round, the games of the top division will be temporarily suspended.”
Defending champions FC Istiklol continued their unbeaten start to the 2020 season with a thumping 6-1 win over Kuktosh on Saturday, while Fayzkand overcame a nine-man Istaravshan to win 2-1.
Sunday’s schedule sees Dushanbe-83 meet city rivals CSKA, while Khujand will host Regar-TadAZ and Lokomotiv-Pamir will face Khatlon in the last domestic fixtures in the country for at least two weeks. (Source: AFC)
