The national football championship restarts on March 3 with the matches of the 18th division, after a pause of several months, Info-Prim Neo reports. The participating teams prepared intensely for the second part of the season. Ten National Division teams trained abroad, especially in Turkey’s Antalya, where they played friendly games. Sheriff Tiraspol signed two players from its rival Dacia Chisinau – halfbacks Alexandru Onica and Alexandru Dedov as well as Portuguese fullback Joao Pereira and the striker of the Bolivian squad Darwin Rios. Current champion Dacia signed former Moldovan international players Denis Kalinkov and Nicolae Josan, the halfback of the national team of Burkina Faso Adama Guira and Sweden’s Osman Sow. Zimbru Chisinau acquired Georgian Levan Korgalidze, who became Moldova’s champion with Dacia the previous season. Nistru Otaci brought back former players Denis Ershov and Alexandru Kirilov (goalkeepers), and Cameroon fullback Gock Habib Mekang, while FC Tiraspol and Iskra-Stal Rybnitsa signed a number of Ukrainian and Moldovan players. The following encounters will take place on March 3: FC Costuleni – Sheriff, Olimpia – Dacia, Iskra-Stal - Milsami-Ursidos, Zimbru – Nistru, FC Tiraspol - CSCA-Rapid. Sf. Gheorghe will meet Academia UTM on March 4. Owing to the unfavorable weather conditions, all the matches will be played on fields with artificial surface. The rankings are headed by Sheriff, which scored 43 points, by two more than Dacia. Zimbru come next with 28 points. They are followed by Iskra-Stal – 25 points, Milsami-Ursidos – 24, Nistru – 19, FC Tiraspol – 18, Olimpia and Sf. Gheorghe – by 17, Academia UTM – 15, CSCA-Rapid – 13, and FC Costuleni – 11.