Page 25 - Ashton & Backwell FC v Bemerton Heath FA Vase 231021

Playing with the Coronavirus

The FA’s guidance wants Clubs to promote the use of masks in crowded
indoor settings, as well as suggesting the implementation of a testing
policy for players and staff, 48 hours prior to any fixture. A study
undertaken by Cognisant Research with 13 Western League players
around Christmas 2021, highlighted the importance of the managers role
in players matchday routines and whilst Club Chairman and Covid Officers
can have important parts to play, it’s essential for all three to be working
together to reinforce the importance in adhering to matchday Covid
protocols, designed to keep players safe.

Football is no different to any other aspect of society in that spectators
and participants demonstrate a spectrum of different attitudes towards
Covid, from genuine concern about the impact of the virus to a belief that
it simply nothing to worry about. That is why it’s important influencers
like Club Officials, coaches and senior players to be proactive in ensuring
that everyone in the game is behaving responsibly. One of the key
challenges identified by the Cognisant study was the contradictory nature
of some of the Governments Covid advice. The idea that you can mark a
player at a corner, but not share a car with them after the game, or limit
who goes into a changing room, only to share a crowded bar or nightclub
with the very same teammates.

That is why it’s important to remember that someone else is making
these rules and the FA and the Clubs are doing their best to enforce
them. Clubs looking to maintain Covid protocols should facilitate an open
discussion on the measures they wish to maintain, allowing players to
discuss what they consider to be reasonable and providing them with an
opportunity to buy-in to a common approach, even if they may have
personal reservations concerning their validity.

The future of the 2021/22 football season still hangs in the balance, with
concerns about a winter surge, not to mention any fixture disruption
caused by the British weather. We can all do our bit to help minimise the
spread of the virus and football is no different. Spectators, coaches and
players all have a part to play in keeping our beautiful going each week,
this is a challenge that unites us all, but we will only succeed if we work
together.