Major League Soccer announced Thursday that it is suspending all games for 30 days, effective immediately, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This comes following the suspension of the NBA season on Wednesday night as well as many college basketball postseason tournaments.

“Our clubs were united today in the decision to temporarily suspend our season – based on the advice and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and other public health authorities, and in the best interest of our fans, players, officials and employees,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “We’d like to thank our fans for their continued support during this challenging time.”

This comes two days before Orlando City was supposed to take on the Chicago Fire at Exploria Stadium. If things hold to form, the MLS season would restart on Saturday, April 11, when Orlando is set to play the Colombus Crew at MAPFRE Stadium. Until then, the teams and league will continue to monitor the situation as it progresses.

The Lions front office released a statement shortly after the league announced on Thursday that it was suspending the season.

“Our top priority as a Club is the health and safety of everyone from our players, employees and fans. We are clearly dealing with an unprecedented health crisis and remain committed to keeping everyone within our Club and community safe,” Orlando City SC CEO Alex Leitão said. “We will continue to work with local, state and national health officials along with the CDC in monitoring the situation.”

MLS is currently planning to reschedule all matches impacted by this suspension, and previously purchased tickets will remain valid for those games. Additional ticketing questions can be directed to tickets@orlandocitysc.com.

Mike Gramajo and Austin David contributed to this report 

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Photo: Courtesy of Orlando City SC