Page 24 - Ashton & Backwell FC v Bemerton Heath FA Vase 231021

Playing with the Coronavirus

At the same time as our political leaders were telling us that we need to
learn to live with the virus, the Football Association was setting out their
guidance on how we would be able to play football whilst Covid was still
with us. Taking a lead from the Governments move into Step 4 on July
19 , the FA’s National League System Club guidance echoed the news
th
that there were no longer any limitations on the number of people who
can meet, and the one-meter rule was now a thing of the past. However,
like the rest of society, the footballing public was urged to move ahead
with caution. Face coverings are no longer required but advised and
whilst changing rooms can be used, Clubs are urged to avoid
“participants being in a crowded area for a prolonged time”.

But as society opens and schools and universities return, what can non-
league football hope to achieve to keep its participants safe, when there
is so much potential for work and leisure activities to spread the virus and
jeopardise fixtures?
"The evidence is very clear that outdoor spaces are safer than indoors,"
Prof Chris Whitty, the UK's chief medical officer has consistently advised.
“From the data we have looked at, and the work that has been done on
back to play protocols, the risk of playing outdoor sport is extraordinarily
low,” said Professor Mike Weed of Canterbury Christ Church University, in
March this year. So it’s reasonable to conclude that watching football
outside and playing football outside are both relatively safe things to do.

The critical challenge faced by the non-league game, in terms of virus
transmission, remains the indoor settings, the clubhouses and the
changing rooms. In terms of spectators, clubhouses are no more
dangerous than your local pub. However, a study by the University of
Portsmouth showing that non-regular pub-goers ‘might never return after
lockdown easing’, suggests that clubhouses might not hold the same
appeal, post-pandemic, as they once did.
Attendances at non-league games show that spectators are prepared to
take their chances, but what about the risks posed to players, coaches
and match officials? In many respects these are the groups that can bear
the greatest risk, because of their age and good health, but they are also
the groups currently working their way through the vaccination system,
with many yet to have their second dose. Clubs can play a crucial role in
demonstrating good practise, in the same way that workplaces are being
closely scrutinised in how they safeguard their employees and customers.