V.League Postponed Again as COVID-19 Grips Da Nang

Krishna Sadhana

Football Tribe SEA Editor

 

The Vietnam Football Joint Stock Company has taken the bold move of once again postponing the ongoing Vietnamese football season after the first locally-transmitted case of COVID-19 in three months made itself known in the Central Vietnam city of Da Nang on Sunday. The move was taken after a football match scheduled to take place in the city, a Vietnamese National Football Second League match between SHB Da Nang’s youth team and Phu Tho FC, was postponed indefinitely.

In the light of a 57-year old man who has not left Da Nang in recent months being positively tested for COVID-19 on Saturday and the emergence of similar cases within the city and nearby Quang Ngai Province, the Da Nang city government has stopped visitors from coming in and also prohibited gatherings of more than 30 people, which include football matches. And with teams visiting Da Nang having to undergo 14 days of quarantine underneath the new regulations set by the Da Nang city government, the league has taken measures to ensure players’ safety by postponing both the V.League 1 and V.League 2 until further notice.

This was the third time that Vietnamese football was suspended due to COVID-19. The first suspension came prior to the start of the season, which saw kick-off being pushed back from February 21st to March 6th. Then another suspension came after two rounds of matches were played out, which lasted until June 5th.

The V.League 1 has already played 11 rounds, with two more rounds to go before the season’s halfway mark. Sai Gon FC, who are yet to taste defeat in the league this season, currently leads the way in the V.League 1. Meanwhile, the V.League 2 has already played out 9 rounds, with newly promoted Ba Ria-Vung Tau as the current league leaders.

The league has yet to provide any details on when both the V.League 1 and the V.League 2 will resume.