The First and Second A football teams continue to advance with some normality in the pre-season, knowing that the competition will begin on the weekend of September 13 and that on Monday they will know the calendar. However, everything changes in the other categories and sports that are considered “non-professional”. Olot, Llagostera, Sppar Girona or Bàsquet Girona, for example, continue to work blindly without a health protocol that can kick off the new season.
After the football, indoor soccer, basketball, handball, cycling, volleyball and rugby federations pressured the CSD to demand an emergency solution in the face of the difficult situation left by the coronavirus pandemic, the body will make it public next week. the protocol that gives the green light to the return of sport. This was confirmed yesterday by the Minister of Culture and Sport, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, who met electronically with the Ministers of Sport to address the problems of the 2020/21 academic year. According to the minister, the protocol “will mark the way forward in the face of the circumstances of the evolution of the pandemic and the different cases or situations that may occur.”
Without having a clear roadmap yet, Rodríguez Uribes stressed that he had “shown that there is a political will for the return of sport.” “We are facing a few months of great uncertainty and the ideas of solidarity, coordination and institutional cooperation are important.” “It’s a global challenge and our athletes deserve our help,” added the director general of the CSD, Joaquín de Arístegui.
In addition, the minister clarified that in non-professional competitions it is essential to “satisfy equal opportunities, which is one of the principles of sport”. The Spanish government is working to have the final protocol next week. Previously, there will be another meeting with the autonomous communities to jointly review and approve the document in “a state framework with legal and health guarantees.”
PCRs at 72 hours of the match
Initially, the protocol will establish that each team competing in “relevant” leagues will undergo a PCR test 72 hours before the match. This would go to the Iberdrola League, Second B and Third (football); Endesa Women’s League, LEB Gold, LEB Silver and Wheelchair First (basketball); Asobal and feminine (handball); LNFS (indoor soccer); roller hockey and grass; rugby; water polo and volleyball, both men’s and women’s. It will also include the most prominent motoring, tennis, cycling and CEV motorcycling championships.
On the table is the big question that worries clubs: who will bear the costs of all PCR tests? Many entities have already shown that they cannot afford such an expense and that following the protocol will be impossible without financial assistance from the administrations.
Do not take children home
On the other hand, the League advised the footballers of First and Second A that during this school year 2020/21 do not take their children to the nursery. Given that from 0 to 3 years it is not mandatory to go to school, the body chaired by Javier Tebas continues with the aim of controlling all the variables that may affect the competition and considers that it is better to stay at home to prevent coronavirus infection.
.
