DR Congo football federation ends season, declares TP Mazembe champions

Coronavirus: TP Mazembe declared champions

TP Mazembe have been crowned Vodacom Ligue 1 champions after the Democratic Republic of Congo's Football Federation (Fecofa) cancelled the 2019/20 season due to the prevailing Covid-19 circumstances.

TP Mazembe, who won their record 18th Ligue 1 title, have retained their title after just 20 games played this season, with 53 points amassed before the novel coronavirus suspended football in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month.

The result of the cancellation has also affected the relegation and promotion, with
Bukavu Dawa and Nyuki, who finished 15th and 16th respectively, being relegated to Division Two.

Jeunesse Sportive de Kinshasa and Étoile Jaune of Lubumbashi have been promoted through two of the regional leagues.

The decision by FECOFA marks the fourth African league cancelled after the Kenyan Premier League, Angolan Girabola, Cameroon, Mauritius,   Ethiopia and the Guinean top-flight.

Meanwhile, Cameroon has cancelled the rest of its league season and declared leaders PWD Bamenda as champions, the country’s football federation said on Tuesday.

Cameroon is the eighth African country to abandon plans to resume the season, which has been curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bamenda were leading Coton Sport by a single point, and had also played one match fewer, when the championship was suspended in mid-March. There were six rounds still to complete.

It is a first title for the club from the country’s north-west region, who now qualify for next season’s African Champions League.

No team will be relegated from the top flight, the federation added, but the top two sides in the second division are promoted to an expanded 20-team league next season.

-Additional report by Reuters