The European country where it's still game on for top-level football

With professional football at a standstill across Europe, fans in need of much-missed match action have turned to Belarus.

Leagues across Europe including those in Spain, Italy, England and France have been postponed until further notice. But the Belarusian Premier League doesn't seem worried by the global pandemic as football carries on as normal: the league has said it has no intentions of postponing or canceling fixtures.

The decision to continue the competition has helped the national federation agree broadcasting deals with 10 countries, including Russia, India and Israel.

Belarus has so far reported 94 confirmed COVID-19 cases but is one of the very few European countries to take minimal measures to curb the outbreak. And its president Alexander Lukashenko has downplayed the need for social distancing in recent days, bragging that he continues to play ice hockey and embrace his teammates.

He told a local television channel on Saturday that "It's better to die standing than to live on your knees."

One of the networks broadcasting Belarusian matches is Ukraine's Sport-1, which had started broadcasting the league late last year due to the number of Ukrainian players playing in Belarus. Viktor Samoilenko, head of Sport-1 owner Poverkhnost Ukraine, said that viewers have been surprised by the standard of football.

Due to the spike in viewing figures, clubs have grown in popularity on social media. A spokesman for Dinamo Minsk, the former European Cup quarter-finalists who finished fourth in the league last season, says he hopes the growing popularity will motivate players: "We hope it will improve the level of the game because the players may get more responsible."

(REUTERS)