Asia

Tel Aviv's Bloomfield Stadium has installed a special tunnel to spray soccer players arriving for matches with a fine disinfectant mist to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

The pilot of the tunnel, which will run until the end of the season, comes as sports leagues around the globe are preparing to resume play but grappling with how to ensure the health of players and fans. Israel's soccer league has resumed but behind closed doors.

As hundreds of thousands die from a global pandemic, as livelihoods are ruined by a tanking economy and as Minneapolis burns amid protests over a black man dying at the hands of police, 2020 has already reached a decade’s worth of devastation in five months. 

On May 22, 2020, NWSL side OL Reign announced the signing of Japanese standout Yuka Momiki. The 24-year-old was born in New York City but grew up playing in Japan with Nippon TV Beleza’s youth side before reaching the senior team.

 “Yuka is a young, dynamic player with tremendous potential that we believe will play an important role in our club this season and far into the future,” said OL Reign CEO Bill Predmore in a team press release. 

Broadcasters have not been getting "bang for their buck" from Australian soccer in recent years and creative solutions are urgently needed to revitalize the game, former Socceroos defender Craig Moore has told Reuters. 

Moore, who is spearheading the "Golden Generation" group pressing for change in Australian soccer, said COVID-19 had heaped more pressure on administrators already battling to reverse declines in ratings and crowds. 

FC Seoul, the club that brought you sex dolls in the stands, is now fielding dummies on the pitch.

The South Korean club made global headlines when it used sex dolls instead of mannequins to fill up the stands in a recent K League match. The club was fined about $80,000 for the incident, which honestly was probably worth the free publicity and most likely a calculated risk.

MANCHESTER, England — The head of Qatar's 2022 World Cup organising committee has vowed to ensure the tournament remains affordable for fans despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.

The gulf state will host the 32-nation tournament in November and December 2022 and while Hassan Al Thawadi, head of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, is hopeful the public health situation will be vastly improved he acknowledges the ripple-effects for the economy will be a challenge.

SEOUL — South Korea's K League said on Wednesday its disciplinary committee decided to impose a 100 million won ($81,454.45) fine on FC Seoul for using sex dolls instead of mannequins to fill empty seats in their stadium.

The club placed dolls in seats during a K League match on Sunday to make up for the absence of fans due to COVID-19 restrictions.

FC Seoul’s 1-0 victory over Gwangju was a steamy and sultry affair at Sangam Stadium on Sunday. With K League matches being played behind closed doors, the 66,000-seat facility was left empty — except for the handful of sex dolls that greeted Han Chan-hee’s winner with expressions of titillated euphoria.

The Bundesliga has taken center stage this weekend, but although we’re asleep for it, we shouldn’t sleep on the K League. In the early hours of Sunday morning, Ulsan’s three-goal comeback allowed the visiting side to escape Suwon’s Big Bird Stadium with all three points.  

Suwon took the lead right before halftime thanks to this sensational strike from midfielder Ko Seung-beom. Ko took possession inside his own half, nutmegged his marker, took off on a 40-yard run and — with the defenders backing off — dialed up an unstoppable drive from 25 yards out. 

Chinese Super League (CSL) team Tianjin Tianhai, which once employed World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro as coach and signed Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato, has declared bankruptcy and folded, the club announced on Tuesday.