MANILA (24 Oct 2020) – The Philippines Football League is postponing its kickoff initially scheduled for Sunday 25 October 2020 to a few days later.
Inclement weather brought on by Tropical Depression Quinta is expected in the area of the match venue, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite, on Sunday which may lead to disruption of the three matches scheduled for Matchday 1.
RT PCR/swab tests were conducted on 16 and 21 October 2020 prior to their entry to the league’s “bubble” in Seda Nuvali in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Five (5) players and one (1) coach, among two (2) clubs, tested positive in the RT-PCR tests conducted on 21 October 2020. They had to be isolated. Further tests were conducted on those with close contacts with these persons last Saturday, 24 October 2020 and three (3) returned positive.
“We have anticipated this scenario hence there is a set of health and safety protocols in place for incidents such as this. What is important is that all continue to adhere to the protocols which are aimed to prevent or minimize the spread of the virus. Upon checking, we have confirmed that those who tested positive admitted had close contact with the player who was first to test positive,” said PFL Commissioner Coco Torre.
“We put emphasis on the safety of each and every individual in the bubble, whether player, staff, or match official,” said PFF general secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes.
“We understand the current situation and with participants’ strict compliance with bubble-specific protocols, we hope to push through with kickoff in a few days.” – pfl.org.ph
