Since the coronavirus breakout, there is a common opinion among football fans who claim that football is gone until further notice.
It is true if you are following the big European Leagues, or even the medium and small competitions in the old continent. But the truth is that football is still on in many places around the world.
Therefore, in BabaGol, the home of football outside-of-the-box, we will bring you daily updates about football that is being played during the coronavirus era.
There would be previews and short match reports, as well as unfortunate last-minute cancellations and surprises, but we will keep our mission and obligation to you, the readers: opening your mind to new and different football scenes, from the less covered area of the world.
As always, we will try and highlight the cultural, political and social contexts of the different scenarios, so you can better understand what’s happening in the derby of Tashkent, why Russia is keeping business as usual during the pandemic, and which team is aiming to snatch the title in Sudan.
Australian A-League
While in Europe the top five leagues are all on hiatus, the A-League was active on Saturday with a big match between Melbourne City and Western Sydney Wanderers. While both teams are far away from the league leader Sydney FC, a clash between the MCFC Group (Melbourne City) representative and the 2014 Asian champions is always a big deal for the Aussie football fans.
The Wanderers went up first with a goal by defender Tate Russell in the 21st minute, his debut goal in the A-League, after a great passing combination with his teammates.
Melbourne did not wait long to get the equalizer, as Jamie MacLaren, ex-Darmstadt and Hibernian, nailed in a penalty just nine minutes later.
Indian Super League - ISL
Saturday is hosting the grand final of the Indian Super League, the more luxurious league among the two prominent football competitions in India. Atletico Kolkata, who’s enjoying the connection with Atletico de Madrid, is facing Channayin FC from Chennai, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa.
Atletico has won the ISL twice in the past, in 2014 (the completion inaugural season) and 2016, and is representing one of the most football passionate cities in India - Kolkata. On the other side, Chennayin is a two-time ISL champion (2015, 2018) that enjoys the presence of the Romanian captain, Lucian Goian and the Lithuanian Nerijus Velaskis.
The ISL is played in a final-four playoff format. Can Chennayin, who finished 4th in the regular season and have beaten Goa (who finished first) in the semis, also hit the runners-up from Kolkata?
Other notable matches:
Algeria: USM Algiers v MC Oran
Palestine: Hilal Al-Quds v Samu
Russia: Zenit St. Petersburg v Ural
Turkey: Konyaspor v Fenerbahçe
UAE: Al-Jazira v Al-Ain
Uzbekistan: Pakhtakor v Metlaourg