Dutch football body sets up coronavirus relief fund

ANKARA

The Dutch football association (KNVB) on Monday set up a relief fund to help amateur and professional clubs in the Netherlands recover from the coronavirus pandemic's negative impact.

"The donations of the Orange [Netherlands national team] players and ING focus on amateur football, the KNVB offers support to both professional football clubs and amateur associations. It concerns a combination of donations, measures and grants representing a total of 11 million euros ($11.8 million)," the KNVB said on its website.

It said that just like other other divisions in Europe, Dutch leagues were also put on hold over COVID-19 fears, and the clubs' incomes went down.

Dutch clubs, the KNVB added, may face financial difficulties in the future as their fixed costs continue.

The ING group is a multinational bank which supported the KNVB from 1996 to 2018, and is now the main sponsor of the Dutch football body.

Since first appearing in Wuhan, China over three months ago, the infection has spread to at least 183 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Nearly 1.3 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the global death toll topping 70,000, and over 270,000 recoveries.

In the Netherlands, the death toll has risen to 1,867, with nearly 19,000 people testing positive.