Covid-19 precautions: No spectators allowed for V. League opening games

"The novel coronavirus epidemic is getting unpredictable. To ensure safety, we have decided to close entry for fans of all of the games on the first round of V. League 2020," said Tran Anh Tu, Chairman of Vietnam Football Jointstock Company (VPF) last week.

He said organizers will watch the situation of Covid-19 closely to decide if fans can be allowed into stadiums for the next rounds or not.

As per the initial schedule, V. League 2020 was set to kick off on February 27. However, the Covid-19 outbreak forced the VPF to push back the date to March 6.

V. League 2020 has 14 teams in the fray. The bottom-placed team will get relegated, while the 13th placed team will play a play-off with the runner-up of V. League 2.

The V. League defending champions are Hanoi FC, who have won two consecutive titles and aim to get their third this season. Their main challenger for the title this year will be HCMC FC, who have strengthened their squad with new players like forward Nguyen Cong Phuong, goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung and several foreign players.