No celebrations but Burundi football league goes on until spread
Bujumbura, Wednesday
Burundi’s football federation (FFB) says domestic competition will continue until coronavirus spreads, after introducing fresh measures in a bid to finish the season amid the pandemic.
The FFB decided to continue the season after a meeting with clubs on Sunday, whereupon players were told not to celebrate goals together and to keep their distance from referees.
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In addition, players have been told to wash their hands before a match and not to shake hands with officials or other players.
“If there are signs of the virus spreading, we will stop the championship,” FFB president Ndikuriyo Reverien told BBC Sport Africa.
“We are going to play and at the same time we will constantly stay in touch with the Health Ministry.”
There are three rounds of the league season remaining in the east African nation, where three people out of a population of just over 10 million have tested positive for Covid-19 so far.
“Until now, the three identified cases and all the people who have been in contact with them are geographically located and monitored by the Health Ministry,” added Reverien, a politician who also presides over the Senate of Burundi.
“We know that in many countries the health situation is catastrophic, but here we have two cases which came in from abroad and one case of local contamination [that person was living with one of the two].
“We don’t see the use in stopping when all activities in the country are still going on as usual.”
Unlike many other nations affected by coronavirus, Burundi has yet to introduce social distancing.
The country is one of only four in the world - along with Belarus, Nicaragua and Tajikistan - where formal league football continues to be played, with all 16 first division teams in action over the weekend.
Although global sport has suffered a widespread shutdown because of the outbreak, the FFB decided to play on after the country’s health minister also attended Sunday’s meeting in Bujumbura.
“After consultation with Public Health Minister Thaddeus Ndikumana, the general assembly decided that the first and second division championships should continue to be played while observing the appropriate hygiene measures,” said the FFB in a statement. - BBC
