Coronavirus: 13 Kwara Utd players, officials test positive

Nine players and four officials of Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) side, Kwara United of Ilorin are believed to have tested positive for Covid-19.

As of Friday morning 13 players and officials were discovered to have tested positive for the virus on Monday during the mandatory Covid-19 testing ordered by the League Management Company (LMC) for teams before resumption of the new 2020/21 NPFL season, a Nigerian newspaper ThisDay reported.

“It was after the tests were carried out that nine players and four officials were confirmed to have tested positive for the virus. All those who tested positive have been moved to the Sobi Isolation Centre in Ilorin for treatment,” a person with firsthand knowledge of the situation confirmed.

Attempts to reach Chairman of the club, Kunbi Titiloye were unsuccessful.

A club official who spoke on condition of anonymity insisted that nobody was allowed to speak on the result of the Covid-19 tests.

“The only person who can talk is Mr Rafiu Ajakaiye, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. He is the Spokesperson of the Covid-19 Technical Committee in the state,” observed the source.

The 13 positive cases appear the first known cases in the country’s sports sector.

Just few weeks ago when the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 lifted lockdown on non-contact sports, most pundits were also looking forward for the return of all football leagues suspended with the outbreak of the pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected over 57,000 Nigerians and also recorded a fatality rate of over 1,000 deaths in the country.