Excitement, passion and fun have a return date. On June 11 the Spanish League returns. Millions of fans were waiting for this news.
The Ministry of Health has approved the return to training of Spanish clubs as of Monday, May 4. In principle, and if everything goes according to the calendar established by Health and the body chaired by Javier Tebas, the League would return on June 11. Both LaLiga and the Spanish football clubs want to end, with all health guarantees, the championship that had to be postponed as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis.
The return to training this week for the players has been agreed by the health and sports authorities. The main objective is to guarantee the safety of both the athletes and the workers of the different clubs. “Health is essential, that’s why we have a comprehensive protocol to safeguard everyone’s health,” LaLiga president Javier Tebas said in a statement.
Action protocol
On June 11 the Spanish League returns as Bundesliga and Premier League. The action protocol that the clubs must follow when returning from the competition is divided into several stages. It will last approximately five weeks. Always following the guidelines set by the Government and if the de-escalation allows it. The authorities have carried out around 11,000 tests on workers of soccer clubs.
During the first stage, soccer players will be tested to determine if they have COVID-19. Players who test negative will train individually at the club facilities. In addition, the test will also be carried out to the coach, technical assistant, doctor and physiotherapist. As a preventive measure, each day upon arrival, footballers must undergo clinical tests and their temperature will be taken inside the vehicle itself.
In the second stage, approximately on May 18, the players who have not tested positive will be able to train together with their teammates in small groups, with a maximum of eight players. On the field of the field there may not be more than 10 people.
Between the end of May and the beginning of June, the last stage, the entire squad would concentrate in a hotel to prepare for the restart of the League. They could all train together now. This is a controversial measure, as some First Division players reject it.
Five changes per game
Among the measures approved for the restart of this unusual season is to allow up to five changes per game. However, each team may stop the game up to three times. In this way, two double changes and a fifth individual relay can be made. Typically soccer teams can make up to three changes per game. However, the tight schedule that awaits Spanish clubs, and due to the high temperatures typical of these months, have been key for the Federation to have allowed two more changes in each match.
Five positives for COVID-19
So far, five First and Second division players have tested positive for COVID-19 carried out before the return to training scheduled for this week. The names of the players are unknown due to compliance with the Organic Law on Data Protection. However, Lodi from Atlético de Madrid and Joel from Betis have admitted suffering from the disease through social networks.
In principle, affected footballers are asymptomatic and are in the final phase of the disease. The affected players will not be able to return to training until they have tested negative twice.
Economic impact
The COVID-19 health crisis has had a very significant impact on the Spanish economy and also on the sports sector. It is still too early to determine the long-term economic consequences it will have on the clubs and other member companies. However, “the return of football is a sign that society is progressing to the new normal,” Tebas explained. He also emphasizes that the return to work of football professionals “supposes the reactivation of a very relevant economic sector that contributes 1.37% of GDP and generates 185,000”.
