South Korea football season postponed: K-league

In the face of the growing coronavirus threat in the country, South Korea's K-league on Monday decided to postpone the start of the new football season.

"The K-league has decided to temporarily postpone the start of the 2020 K-league season until the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak eases," it said in a statement.

"This is a measure to protect the health and safety of the citizens and our players with the highest priority against the outbreak of the COVID-19 which has entered a serious phase," the K-league said after an emergency board meeting.

South Korea reported its seventh coronavirus death and 161 new confirmed cases on Monday bringing the total number to 763, with health authorities vowing to contain the spread of the virus in the southwestern city of Daegu where more than half of the total cases were reported.

Daegu, where 2.5 million people are asked to stay indoors, saw its confirmed cases jump by 131 to 457 on Monday morning, despite efforts to stem the spread of the virus, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) as saying.