September 1 – Colombia’s top flight will restart this month behind closed doors, sports minister Ernesto Lucena has announced. Junior FC and América de Cali will get the ball rolling again on September 8.
In the third week of August, Colombian clubs were allowed to train collectively again for the first time since the coronavirus shut down the global game in March. Those practice sessions will now be followed by a return to competitive action with local authorities green lighting the resumption of the country’s premier league, the Dimayor.
“We hope that by no later than the third week of September the national tournament will begin, of course observing the protocols that clubs and the government have agreed to,” said Lucena in the government’s daily coronavirus briefing.
He also ruled out any fans attending the matches. Lucena said: “It will be closed door – we’ve said that from the beginning – there will not be capacity for the public.”
In South America, Uruguay, Peru and Brazil have been among the countries to start the new season. The continent has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Colombia tops 600,000 confirmed cases with just under 20,000 people having died from the virus, according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1713616738labto1713616738ofdlr1713616738owedi1713616738sni@o1713616738fni1713616738