Brazil has one of the worst COVID-19statistics in the world, with 3 million people infected and more than 100,000people succumbing to the disease. It’s no wonder that the Goias football team was struck down with almost half their players testing positive on Saturday. The test results were announced only moments before the first weekend game of the season.

The opposing team, Sao Paola FC, were already on the field warming up, however, a court decision was made just before the game was scheduled to begin, postponing the match to a later date. Both teams were in the dark until the very last minute before play was due to start.

The season was already delayed by 3 months due to the pandemic, and in keeping with the new Brazilian Football Confederation rules, players are to be tested within 72 hours of the start of a game. The matches are still being played without spectators, due to the highly contagious environment of the stadium stalls.  

The Sao Paulo Football Club took the postponement in their stride posting on twitter that “nothing is more important than staying healthy”.

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