Covid 19 coronavirus: Last league standing - Belarusian Premier League's newfound popularity

Fans watch a 2020 Belarusian Football Cup match between FC Slutsk and Slavia Mazyr. Photo / Getty

Football fans looking for their weekly fix have turned to the Belarusian Premier League, the last European football league still standing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The league, previously one of Europe's least glamorous competitions, is now drawing foreign fans and a stack of new broadcast deals.

The league says it has no intention of postponing or cancelling the season, which began earlier this month.

The decision to play on has led to a string of broadcasting deals for the Belarus Football Federation, with deals from sports networks in 10 countries including Russia, Israel and India.

Belarus has so far reported 94 cases of Covid-19 but has taken no measure to attempt to limit the outbreak.

Fans watch a 2020 Belarusian Football Cup match between FC Slutsk and Slavia Mazyr. Photo / Getty

The country's president Alexander Lukashenko has downplayed the need for social distancing and has even bragged about continuing to play ice hockey and embracing fellow players.

"It's better to die standing than to live on your knees," Lukashenko told local television on Saturday after a hockey game. "There are no viruses here (at the rink)... I don't see them."

The growing viewing figures has helped boost the social media profile of clubs like Dinamo Minsk, especially among English speakers.

"We hope it will improve the level of the game because the players may get more responsible," Minsk club spokesperson Alexander Strok told Reuters.

Many hope that the surge of the country's football league would help develop the sport and open doors for Belarusian players to move to bigger clubs in Europe.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

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