Coronavirus
Bolivia suspends all league football until 31 March
The federation had considered playing games behind closed doors but opted in favour of stricter measures. Bolivia’s games against Argentina and Brazil, also suspended.
League football in Bolivia will be taking a back seat until 31 March in the wake of new measures announced by the government to tackle the coronavirus crisis, the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) announced today.
"We have to prioritise the health and wellbeing of everyone involved in Bolivian football, and for that reason, all national competitions (professional and amateur) in all of the various different categories will be suspended until 31 March 2020," the FBF confirmed in a statement.
The federation emphasised its "commitment in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic" and added that it would be open to taking new measures if necessary.
The FBF had considered playing games behind closed doors as it announced on Thursday, most of the games correspond to Week 12 of the Apertura, as a response to the outbreak of Covid-19 in Bolivia, where 11 positive cases have been confirmed.
Bolivia starts shutting down against Covid-19
This latest action follows on from measures taken by the South American Football (CONMEBOL) last week, in which it was announced that all Copa Libertadores games programmed to take place from 15 to 21 March would now be suspended.
FIFA also announced that the start of the South American qualifiers for World Cup Qatar 2022, which were due to be played between 23 and 31 March have been postponed.
Bolivia’s national team had been scheduled to play their first games against Brazil on 27 then at home to Argentina on 31 March – both games have been postponed until a later date.
On Sunday, interim Bolivian president Jeanine Añez, revealed a set of measures that the country would be implementing to counter the coronavirus pandemic. All cultural and sporting events have been cancelled while bars, cinemas, gyms and parks will close to stop the virus from spreading.