The football season in Tajikistan will start on time, although almost all leagues around the world have stopped due to the outbreak of the new Coruna virus (Covid-19).
Clubs in the landlocked country - located in Central Asia, with a population of nine million - are largely immersed, even among the most passionate football fans.
But the local Super Cup confrontation between Independence (the league champion) and Khujand (runner-up) on Saturday may bring some comfort to football fans, as bookmakers have opened the game to gamblers, and will also be broadcast live.
Football escaped pauses in a few countries around the world, as matches in notorious leagues such as Belarus, Nicaragua and Burundi helped thirsty fans break the barrier of boredom.
The Belarus Football Association has already concluded deals with television broadcast networks in more than ten countries, including Russia, Israel, India and even Bulgaria.
The Super Cup match will be held in Tajikistan without fans in the capital, Dushanbe. The World Health Organization has urged people to avoid gatherings, although the ex-Soviet state has not declared any infection with the emerging corona virus.
Tajikistan has never qualified for the World Cup or Asian Cup, and achieved its best results in 2006 when it won the Asian Challenge Cup for emerging countries.
No Tajikistan club reached the group stage in the AFC Champions League, and lost independence to Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahly in the preliminary rounds in January.
A Tajikistan Football Association official told Reuters he hoped the league would increase in popularity in the coming weeks, and would be happy to discuss TV broadcast deals with sports networks in foreign countries.
"But it is too early to say that there are serious offers; the league starts on Sunday, and we will see what happens," he said.
The league matches - consisting of ten teams - will be held without fans, and the matches of the Tajikistan League will be broadcast through two sports stations, one owned by the state and the other owned by the Football Association.