Ivory Coast league ends abruptly due to Covid-19

Racing Club win the league title for the first time in only their second season in the Ivorian top-flight.

The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) Executive Committee has decided to terminate the 2019-2020 MTN Ligue 1 season after a meeting at the Federation’s Headquarters.

There will be no demotion but two teams will be promoted from the Ligue 2, turning the 2020 – 2021 Ligue 1 season into a 16 team league.

Moreover, the championships of Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Division 3, the National Cup, Regional Division, District, Women Football, Corporate Football and the National Youth championship have all been cancelled.

The National Cup Competition, for which the winner would originally qualify to play in the CAF Confederation Cup has also been cancelled.

Racing Club d’Abidjan have therefore been crowned champions of the Ivory Coast Ligue 1 following the Football Federation’s decision to end the 2019/2020 season with six games to play.

Racing Club win the league title for the first time in only their second season in the Ivorian top-flight.

The newly crowned champions were leading the fourteen team Ligue 1 log after twenty weeks with 38 points.

Ivory Coast’s most successful club and twenty six times Ligue 1 champions ASEC Mimosa will miss out on continental club football for the second consecutive time.

League champions Racing Club d’Abidjan and second placed FC San Pedro will represent the country in the 2020/2021 CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup respectively.

As a result of the corona virus pandemic that has caused the termination of some leagues in Africa, some clubs have won their league titles for the very first time in their history.

These teams might have lost their leadership of their leagues if the season were to continue.

As a result, PWD Bamenda of Cameroon, Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana and Racing Club d’Abidjan of Ivory Coast are now champions of their respective leagues and written their names in the history books.

Mustapha Hadji