Tristan Borges and Oud-Heverlee Leuven's promotion campaign will have to wait. Soccer officials in Belgium postponed the second leg of the Belgian second-tier promotion playoff, which would have been held this weekend, over concerns about COVID-19 (coronavirus). Borges, voted CPL Player of the Year in 2019 when he was with Forge FC, did not feature in OHL’s 1-0 road loss to Beerschot on March 8 in leg one of the playoff. Belgium's second division season is split into two parts, an opening and closing tournament – similar to the 2019 CPL campaign. OHL won the league’s opening tournament late last year, guaranteeing a spot in the division’s promotion playoff vs.Beerschot, with the winner being promoted to the Belgian First Division in 2020-21. Belgium had 886 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus as of Sunday, according to the World Health Organization. Europe has been deemed the "epicentre" of the world pandemic, which has seen strict rules applied to public gatherings in recent days to "flatten the curve" of cases. RELATED READING: Canadian Premier League Statement: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Protocol for Pre-Season Training Meanwhile, Forge and the other seven CPL clubs have postponed pre-season for two weeks amidst the COVID-19 pandemic after the league announced such measures last Friday. Whether matches will be postponed or rescheduled for the 2020 season – which is scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 11 – remains to be seen. Borges moved to the Belgian side in January after earning MVP honours with Forge last year. A 21-year-old native of Toronto, Borges was unquestionably the biggest story of the Canadian Premier League’s inaugural season. Borges scored a league-high 13 goals (including the winner in Leg 1 of Finals 2019), while also winning plaudits for his dynamic attacking style and the strength of his overall game. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by Forge FC, but a source told CanPL.ca that the transfer fee ranges between $300,000 and $500,000.

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