EVEN as M-League teams prepare for the suspended season to resume on Aug 22, they are reminded of the clear and present danger posed by the coronavirus.
By yesterday, the local football fraternity knew that two players had tested positive for Covid-19.
The onus is now on the 24 teams in the M-League to mount the strongest possible defence against the virus with renewed vigilance and strict SOP measures.
A player from the Super League and another one from the Premier League have contracted the feared virus.
One of them is a foreign player from Kedah FA but fortunately he did not join his teammates in training and was found to be infected when under quarantine after coming to Malaysia from abroad.
Then Kuching FA confirmed on Thursday in their Facebook page that one of their players, who was part of the Sentosa Hospital cluster, tested positive.
"We have always stressed on following the SOP set by the government and MFL (Malaysian Football League) in all our daily training activities.
"All of our training has been suspended until we receive further instructions from the authorities," stated the Kuching FA.
The MFL, while applauding Kuching FA for their quick response to the Covid-19 positive case, issued a reminder to the M-League teams yesterday.
MFL chief executive officer Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said: "We sympathise with what has happened to the Kuching FA player. He was tested positive at his work place, and it's not an M-League cluster as some may have speculated.
"They took the right steps after what had happened in deciding to quarantine all the players and staff.
"They have also done another swab test and hopefully everything goes well.
"I urge all the teams to be disciplined when it comes to matters off the field. There are SOPs put in place for good reason and so far things have been good.
"However, it is very important that everyone abides by the SOP when they are off the field as we cannot control what happens in public," he added.
Ghani urged all the players and officials to be vigilant to ensure that the M-League can restart as planned.