ASUNCION, Paraguay — Paraguay's second division footballers are working as gardeners, builders and egg salesmen to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of them haven't been paid by their clubs for more than a year. The latest season of Paraguay's second division ended on Nov. 17, 2019, but the country's top-flight championship was the first to start in South America, only months after the pandemic set in. Paraguayan soccer executives believe the 2021 second division season will start on April 9, as soon as the country's health ministry and the local soccer body have a deal for a COVID-19 protocol for three lower divisions and the nation's women's soccer championship.
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