Brazilian football league suspended for two rounds due to flooding in the south of the country

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Brazilian Football Confederation has suspended the next two rounds of its national league due to massive flooding in the south of the country.

The move came on Wednesday after 15 of the 20 clubs in the top division called for a corresponding exclusion.

The state of Rio Grande do Sul remains under water, with Porto Alegre-based rivals Gremio and Internacional, as well as country club Juventude, all playing in the Brazilian first division.

According to authorities, at least 149 people have died in the floods and another 108 are missing. More than 620,000 people have been left homeless.

If conditions in southern Brazil allow it, the league will resume with the ninth round on June 1. The seventh and eighth rounds will be rescheduled.

“We must not forget that sport and society go hand in hand and cannot separate at such a difficult moment for the Brazilian people,” the country’s football association said in a statement, adding that the suspension of top division matches until May 27 does not apply to other competitions.

Brazil’s Sports Minister André Fufuca called for the same measure on Friday, extending it to all nationwide tournaments for men, women and under-20s. The Brazilian Football Confederation had already agreed to suspend all football activities in the southern state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina, for 20 days.

The South American football association CONMEBOL has also cancelled two club games in the region.

While Internacional’s Beira-Rio is no longer flooded, the Arena do Grêmio in the state capital Porto Alegre is still under water. Juventude’s Alfredo Jaconi Stadium in the suburb of Caxias do Sul was less affected.

The airports in Porto Alegre and Caxias do Sul are closed, water supplies are still scarce and hotels are fully booked.

All three clubs from Rio Grande do Sul had to suspend their matches in the fifth round of the Brazilian league, the same weekend the floods began. Internacional is in 10th place, Gremio in 12th and Juventude in 15th.

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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press