August restart for Egyptian Premier League

The Egyptian Premier League will resume on 7 August after almost five months of being suspended due to coronavirus, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has announced.

The season will commence its schedule in two phases starting with the postponed games, head of the Competitions Committee Hossam El-Zanati said in a statement published on the EFA's website.

The EFA however made no mention of Zamalek - who have said they will not resume playing until a "cure for the virus" is found.

"The first phase will include the games scheduled to be played from 7 August until the end of the month, and it will be revealed as soon as we reach a final decision regarding Aswan SC stadium as the club requested to play its games in Cairo," the statement said.

Aswan, located south of Cairo, was the proposed location for matches to be played - however, the clubs rejected the proposed location, citing the distance and long journey for the players.

"The second phase of the games are scheduled to be played starting from 1 September until the end of the season. This will be announced shortly after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decides the final dates of the semi-finals and finals of the African Champions League and the Confederation Cup," El-Zanati added.

The EFA last month implemented safety guidelines and testing procedures for players mandating two tests with five days separating each test, since then 19 tests have returned positive with individuals in isolation.

Cairo giants Al-Ahly led the league with 49 points after 17 matches played.

This article was originally published by BBC Sport. Photo: BBC Sport