South Korea starts the season - in front of the audience: "Managed it very well"

Together with Germany, South Korea is one of the few countries aiming to start football on May 8-9.

Swedish striker Philip Hellquist plays in the South Korean second league and looks to be one of the first players to start again.

"This is proof that South Korea has been doing this very well by being able to get started so early. The feeling is like the corona is starting to pass by here, Hellquist tells SVT Sport.

At the time of writing, South Korea has around 10,000 confirmed cases and has had a total of 242 deaths, on a population of over 51 million.

And both the country's and the club's actions have impressed the 28-year-old.

- The club has been very professional. They have been very careful not to get the virus, he says and develops:

- There have always been tests before every workout and if someone felt scruffy or sick, the player has been away during the day, probably done corona test and then come back a few days later.

Hellquist arrived at his new club Chungnam Asan in January and then came from the Bromma boys and superetta in Sweden. And he noticed the differences between the countries when he talked to his relatives.

- Here it has been as stations that you could go to if you had to test while in Sweden it seems to have been more difficult, says the Swede and tells about a shift that has become during the pandemic:

- From the beginning they were worried about me when it all started here in Asia but now I am worried about them. It feels like in Sweden is peaking right now, something we did here a month ago.

It is also one of the reasons why the South Korean league will also play the games in front of the public. A decision that Hellquist welcomes and feels natural.

- Of course we want the audience, that is what all football players want. It will be another game because you get more adrenaline and I think everyone gets better from having an audience at the matches.