| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico | May 2009 
All 176 Mexican Pro Matches Will be Without Fans
 Associated Press
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| | A man wears a surgical mask as he walks past a painting of two soccer players in Mexico City May 2, 2009. (Reuters/Daniel Aguilar) | |
Mexico City - Every professional football game in Mexico this weekend - 176 matches in all divisions - will be played without fans in an effort to slow the spread of swine flu.
The fan-ban stretches from nine top division matches to 12 first-division A games, 40 in the second division and 115 in the third. It is a giant step from just last weekend when only three first-division games were played behind closed doors.
To give fans something to watch, at least six top division matches - normally seen only on pay-for-view TV - will be available on free channels.
The moves by the Mexican Football Federation came as the A1GP Mexico City race next month was canceled and golf's Mexico Open scheduled for May 21-24 was postponed.
The A1GP Mexico City was to be the eighth and last round of the auto series on May 24, but this weekend's race at Brands Hatch will now be the final round. Organizers would have had to fly the cars to Mexico straight after the race in England.
"To say we are disappointed to have to make this call is an understatement," A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira said.
The Mexico Open was to be played at El Bosque Golf Club in Leon, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of Mexico City.
The Mexico Open, first played in 1944, was jointly sanctioned by the Mexican Golf Federation and the Nationwide Tour.
Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee said it will be rescheduled for later in the year.
Meanwhile, a Central American youth basketball tournament was canceled because of the swine flu outbreak in Mexico. FIBA Americas, the governing body of basketball in the region, said an under-16 tournament set for June 3-7 would be moved to a venue in Central America. It did not specify where.
The fear of swine flu is altering the face of Mexico with almost everyone wearing masks, families hunkered down at home, and many restaurants selling only takeaway meals. Emergency measures to reshape football are some of the most visible with suspected deaths from the outbreak in Mexico having reached 160.
Weekend Mexican football matches are local fiestas, more like market squares with food-sellers hawking snacks and fans decked out in colorful team jerseys with cold drinks flowing on the sun-drenched terraces inside the stadiums.
"It's pretty strange not to go to the stadium with my family, because this is part of our culture to go and support your team," said Sergio Galindo, a 30-year-old lawyer in the northeastern city of Monterrey and a Rayados season-ticket holder.
Rayados plays at home on Saturday against Mexico City club America in the top league.
"I understand the games are going to be on TV in bars and restaurants," Galindo said. "Because of the flu scare, we'll watch at home with a barbecue or something - but really, it's not the same. The game against America is one of the most important of the season. I imagine this is going to hit the club hard on the economic front."
Mexican officials are suggesting clubs will lose about 24 million pesos ($2 million) this weekend in ticket sales - the primary revenue source for all teams. Losses to food vendors, parking attendants and stadium employees is tough to calculate, but these could match the losses in ticket sales.
Concern is also growing in South America.
CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American football, expressed its disquiet on Wednesday with the situation in Mexico. One Mexican club, San Luis, has already qualified for the final 16 of the Copa Libertadores - the Latin American club championship. Chivas Guadalajara is also vying for the last 16.
In a written message to the Mexican federation, CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz asked about health guarantees for any Mexican club playing in South America.
"We ask what measures you will take in such a delicate situation to safeguard the physical health of athletes, coaches and team officials," Leoz said, calling the situation in Mexico "grave."
Play in the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores begins on May 6.
At least one South American team in the tournament - Boca Juniors of Buenos Aires - has expressed concern about traveling to Mexico. And two players from Paraguay who play for Mexican clubs - Dante Lopez and Carlos Bonet - are sending their families back to South America.
"We want to protect the health of our players and our people," said Jorge Amor Ameal, president of Boca in a TV interview in Buenos Aires. |
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