Oman Football Association’s (OFA) Chairman Shaikh Salim Said Al Waehibi met the representative of Omantel leagues on Wednesday to discuss the status of the remaining matches for the season 2019/2020 which stopped due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting was held at OFA headquarters in Seeb Stadium to continue the season with the three remaining matches of top tier domestic league as per the previous confirmation issued by the OFA board on mid of March. OFA affirmed on implementation of all the safety precautions measures after resuming the league matches. A detailed medical protocol will be issued prior to the season commencement in direct coordination with the related entities to monitor the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All the attendees of the meeting including the OFA official and club’s representatives agreed that the resuming of the league and other sporting activities will depend on the Supreme Committee decision and it is as announced previously the season will be back in September.
The funding which was provided by FIFA for the football associations to cover the losses that occurred due to the novel coronavirus was another item of discussion during the meeting. OFA chairman informed that an amount of 1.5 million Dollars from Fifa will be distributed for the national teams and clubs. The women's football department will receive an amount of 500,000 $ while the rest amount will be distributed between the clubs and OFA.
League clubs officials appreciated the efforts taken by the OFA team in coordination with the related government bodies for the precautions measures to stop spreading of COVID-19 prior to the matches and season resume once again in the near future.
Before the sporting season stopped in the Sultanate in Mid of March, Seeb was topping Omantel League by 50 points while Dhofar are placed second with 45 points. At the bottom of the league table order, Mirbat are confirmed of their relegation to the first division league while Al Oruba and Oman Club are positioned in the 12th and 13th positions respectively. In the HM Cup, the second leg matches of the semifinals and the final are still to be played. Ibri beat Al Oruba 2-1 in the first leg of the semifinal while the match between Al Nahdha and Dhofar ended in a 1-1 draw.
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