The coronavirus pandemic has shut down the majority of the football world, but a small collection of leagues continues to play on during the crisis. Here’s what you need to know about those four competitions.
Belarusian Premier League 🇧🇾
Despite growing concerns of players and fans, Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko remains insistent that sports trudge ahead, even as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country continues to rise. As Europe’s lone active competition, the Belarusian Premier League has received plenty of attention in recent weeks, both from a general interest perspective and – perhaps more importantly for league officials – a betting one.
Defending champions: Dynamo Brest, one of only four teams to appear every season since the league’s inception in 1992, captured their first-ever top-flight title in 2019. Powered by joint-leading scorers Dzyanis Laptsew and Pavel Nyakhaychyk, they finished undefeated away from home.
Most successful club: BATE Borisov are the only Belarusian side to compete in the Champions League group stages and have won 15 top-flight titles. Not too shabby. Their dominant run of 13 consecutive league titles was halted last season by Dynamo Brest. BATE’s response? Signing the aforementioned Nyakhaychyk from their rivals.
The situation this …read more