SAFA chief medical officer Dr Thulani Ngwenya has explained the process that needs to be followed in order for competitive football action to resume.
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Talks are currently underway to restart the local leagues, with teams cleared to return to training once certain health measures are completed, including the first round of Covid-19 testing.
The Premier Soccer League’s ‘return-to-play’ protocols ensure training and matches must take place in a biologically safe environment (BSE).
While a number of clubs have already reported positive coronavirus cases, Dr Ngwenya has moved to allay fears that the plan in place in anything but stringent.
Dr Ngwenya was reported by KickOff to have said: “We have said to government, we’re going to test first, the training fields are going to be sanitised and people are going to be screened on a daily basis – that is just for training.
“But, over and above that, before they come to the BSE, they are going to be tested again for a second time and then go into a mini-camp wherever they are [based].
“Now, when they are cleared for a second time, they are then going to travel – for which there is also a protocol that we have to adhere to, which speaks about the number of people allowed in a transport, because we still have to have social distancing.
“Then, in terms of the BSE, when you identify this, it must be a place where it is not a hotspot or an epicentre, so we’ll be going to an even safer place.
“For instance, one of the other things that can perhaps be looked at is the issue that different regions in the country have different weather conditions, where, for instance, Polokwane is warmer than Johannesburg, but it doesn’t take priority over the issue of capacity.
“The first thing is that the area must not be an epicentre; the second is that it must have capacity in terms of training fields, accommodation and of course the match venues.
“The third issue is that, if possible, that area must be an area that has slightly warmer weather than the other areas in the whole country, but that is not priority, it just becomes a bonus if possible.”
– TEAMtalk media
