K League 1 plans to allow fans in from July 10

The Korean football league is hoping to have fans back in the stands by July 10 at the earliest, a league official said Tuesday.

The K League said the match between Busan IPark and FC Seoul in the top-flight K League 1 will likely be the first contest of the season played before fans. It will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Busan Gudeok Stadium in Busan.

The K League 1 season kicked off on May 8, and its 12 clubs have played nine out of 27 matches so far.

Without any gate receipts, clubs have been in dire financial situations. And some much-needed relief came Sunday, when the government announced it will allow sports stadiums to reopen, as long as teams create safe viewing experiences for spectators.

"We've been in close coordination with the national health authorities and the Sports Ministry over the timing of the opening and the size of the crowd," the league official said. "If we receive more specific guidelines from the Sports Ministry this week, we'll take about a week to set things up before fans can come to our matches."

Yonhap