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Belarus football: All you need to know as Europe's only surviving league now

  /  autty

And we'll really shake you up when we win the ... Vysheyshaya Liga.

Okay it doesn't have a catchy ring to it, but the Belarusian Premier League is currently the most watched football league in Europe - because it's the only professional football league being played right now.

The Belarusia president has received widespread condemnation for his response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the rest of Europe was heading into lockdown and implementing emergency measures, President Alexander Lukashenko took part in an ice hockey match where he controversially declared that sport "is the best anti-virus remedy".

And at the event, he told a reporter: "It's better to die standing on your feet than to live on your knees."

Then he followed up by suggesting that Belarusians should drink 50ml of vodka a day to ward off the virus, although not while they are at work!

He also claims that regular trips to the sauna, working in the fields and having breakfast on time are the best ways to stay healthy - dismissing stricter measures imposed in neighbouring Russia and elsewhere as "frenzy and psychosis".

As a result Belarusia's Premier League, which kicked off on March 19, is continuing in front of packed crowds.

And football fans from around Europe have been tuning in remotely to get their football fix.

With each club having played only three matches so far, Belarusian football organisers have said they have no intention of postponing matches or cancelling the season.

According to the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, the president said: "We are not cancelling anything. We will host all the events we have planned … Let God protect us from the coronavirus."

So what do we know about Belarusian football?

The Belarusian Premier League

The League was founded in 1992 following the break up of the former Soviet state, with Dinamo Minsk the only team formerly involved in the Soviet top division to participate.

They won six of the first seven league titles but have only lifted the title once since. Following a brief experiment with winter football the League switched to summer football in 1995, where it has stayed ever since.

Who are the current giants of Belarusian Football?

BATE Borisov, without any shadow of a doubt. The team based in the city of Barrysaw won an incredible 13 successive titles from 2006 to 2018, but they are not the reigning champions. Last season they were pipped into second place by surprise champions Dynamo Brest.

Who is Belarusian football's best known player?

That will be Alexander Hleb, who joined Arsenal in 2005 and in 2006 became the first Belarusian player to appear in a Champions League final.

A popular figure with The Gunners he earned a move to Barcelona where he won several medals, but made a limited number of appearances before loan spells at Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and .... Birmingham City.

Who has made the best start to this season?

Dinamo Minsk and BATE have both made poor starts to the campaign, losing two of their opening three games.

The only team with a 100 per cent record after three games is league leaders Energetyk-BGU.

The decision to carry on has helped the Belarus Football Federation secure broadcasting deals with sports networks in 10 countries, including Russia, Israel and India, where fans have been left with nothing to watch.

When are the next Belarusian matches?

It's Friday, it's 5 o'clock and it's Neman v rock bottom Belschina.

There are three games on Saturday, including Slutsk versus Vitebsk who are both locked on six points, while game of the day on Sunday is third placed FC Minsk versus BATE Borisov.

And the feast of football doesn't end there. On Easter Monday, at 3.30pm, FC Slavia Mozyr entertain Rukh Brest.

Related: Belarus