The Brazilian football league was suspended for two rounds due to flooding in the south of the country

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s soccer federation has suspended the next two rounds of its national league because of massive flooding in the south of the country.

The move came on Wednesday after 15 of the 20 clubs in the top flight requested a halt to play.

The state of Rio Grande do Sul remains under water. Porto Alegre-based rivals Gremio and Internacional, as well as country club Juventude, all play in the Brazilian first division.

According to authorities, at least 149 people have died from the floods and another 108 are missing. More than 620,000 people were displaced.

If conditions in southern Brazil allow, the league will resume for the ninth round on June 1. The seventh and eighth rounds will be rescheduled.

“We must not forget that sport and society go hand in hand and cannot separate at such a difficult moment for the Brazilian people,” the country’s football association said in a statement. It added that the suspension of top flight matches until May 27 does not apply to other competitions.

Brazil’s Sports Minister André Fufuca called for the same move on Friday, extending it to all nationwide tournaments for men, women and under-20s. The Brazilian football federation had already agreed to suspend all football activities in the southern state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina, for 20 days.

The South American football association CONMEBOL has also suspended two club games in the region.

While Internacional’s Beira-Rio is no longer flooded, the Arena do Gremio in the state capital Porto Alegre remains under water. Juventude’s Alfredo Jaconi Stadium on the outskirts of Caxias do Sul was less affected.

The airports in Porto Alegre and Caxias do Sul are closed, water supplies are still scarce and hotels are full.

All three clubs from Rio Grande do Sul had to cancel their games in the fifth round of the Brazilian league, the same weekend the floods began. Internacional is in 10th place, Gremio is in 12th place and Juventude is in 15th place.

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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press