S. Korean football season opener to be streamed live on YouTube, Twitter

The South Korean football league announced Wednesday it will stream its upcoming season-opening match live on YouTube and Twitter, complete with English-language commentary for international viewers.

The Korea Professional Football League (K League) said the 2020 K League 1 opening contest on Friday between Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings will be available at K League's official YouTube channel (youtube.com/withkleague) and at its official Twitter account, @kleague. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul.

Simon Hill, a veteran football commentator who has called the FIFA World Cup, English Premier League and Australia's A-League, will provide English play-by-play from Australia.

The international feed will be produced at the K League Media Center in Seoul.

The start of the season had been scheduled for Feb. 29, but it was pushed back by more than two months because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Due to lingering concerns of infection, the early portion of the 2020 season will be played without fans.

The K League said only the opening match will be streamed on social media. It said late last month that broadcasters from 10 countries, including China, Hong Kong and Croatia, had purchased rights to K League matches for this season, with television stations and digital platforms in Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the United States also having expressed interest.

The league tested every player and coach for COVID-19 and all tested negative.

Because of the delayed start, the 12 teams in the K League 1 will play 27 matches in 2020, down from the usual 38. (Yonhap)