Soccer-Swedish season to start with minute's silence for COVID-19 victims

The Swedish soccer season will finally get underway on Sunday with games in the top two divisions preceded by a minute's silence for people who have died or been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Swedish Elite Football has announced.

The Swedish soccer season will finally get underway on Sunday with games in the top two divisions preceded by a minute's silence for people who have died or been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Swedish Elite Football has announced. Sweden has recorded over 4,800 deaths during the novel coronavirus outbreak, prompting the governing body for elite football to pay tribute during the first two rounds of games in the top-flight Allsvenskan and second-tier Superettan.

"The whole world has been hit hard by COVID-19 and to honour all who perished, their relatives and everyone else who was affected by the virus in some way, we will observe a minute's silence before all matches in the first and second round of Allsvenskan and Superettan," Swedish Elite Football said in a statement. Champions Djurgarden will get the season started when they travel to Sirius in Uppsala (1000 GMT).