Soccer on Hold in Liberia as the Fight Against Ebola Continues

Correction appended July 30, 9:26am ET

Liberia halted all soccer activity Tuesday in the effort to contain the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, which has killed hundreds in West Africa as the region scrambles to stop the worst outbreak on record.

“We have decided to suspend all football activity while we help the government combat the deadly Ebola disease,” said Liberian Football Association secretary general Alphonso Armeh. “We also want to use this time to create awareness. In its initial stages, we didn’t give this the attention it needed.”

The President’s Cup, scheduled for August, has been postponed and training has been canceled, Bloomberg reports. The soccer ban could be lifted in time for league play in October.

More than 670 people in three West African countries, including more than 129 in Liberia, have been killed in the outbreak. Nigeria recently had to evacuate and quarantine a hospital after a patient died of Ebola in the first reported case to reach the densely populated city of Lagos.

On Sunday, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf shut overland border crossings into and out of the country.

Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly identified the capital of Nigeria. It is Abuja.

[Bloomberg]