Domestic football, including the Malaysian Super League, and other contact sports competitions will be allowed to take place in the country starting from August 15, subject to standard operating procedures during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO).

The announcement was made by defence minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob during a National Security Council (NSC) briefing on Friday.
Other contact sports competitions permitted to be held included rugby, hockey, sepak takraw, basketball and squash.

Sports tournaments not involving physical contact such as badminton, motorsports and chess would be allowed to resume on a much earlier date of July 15.

Gatherings of supporters and spectators, however, would still be prohibited.

The Malaysian Super League, along with related domestic football competitions, was suspended on March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and had initially been pencilled by the Malaysian Football League (MFL) to return behind closed doors in September.

Due to time constraints, the season would also be shortened to just 11 rounds.

Prior to the break, defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) were leading the standings after four rounds, two points ahead of nearest challengers Perak.