Elite sportsmen and sportswomen are allowed to refuse to go back into work and training if they do not feel safe, the Government has said.
This means football players at Stoke City, Burton Albion and Port Vale and other professional athletes in Staffordshire can “opt out” of returning to their respective clubs and training facilities if they feel like it would compromise their health and wellbeing.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Public Health England, the Department of Heath and Social Care and UK Sport say they have been working with major sports governing bodies to plan the resumption of professional sports training and competition.
The Government released news about a two-step plan to phase in the return of professional sport on Wednesday; step one consisting of individual training or groups of individual training, and step two involving ‘social clustering’ where small groups are able to attain closer contact.
Step one can come into effect immediately. This scheme is advisory-only and is not a replacement of the Government’s social distancing regulations.
This plan also states that each sports club should have a designated Covid-19 officer who would be expected to have oversight on all things coronavirus-related, including the return to training and medical risk aspects.
Additionally, clubs should prepare a risk assessment and a risk mitigation plan which should include factors such a implementing regular Covid-19 screening, outlining clear club protocols, and ensuring that training minimises the risk of injury and illness.
If sports players are not happy with the level of safety at the club/venue following a one-to-one check-in regarding their back-to-work plan, they can opt-out with no repercussions.
Furthermore, athletes would have to ‘opt-in’ if they wanted to return to training.
A spokesperson for the Government said: “All athletes and support staff should be engaged in a one-to-one check-in prior to resumption of organised Step One training to ensure they have understood the sport specific risks and mitigations, training site protocols in place, are physically and mentally well enough to engage in return to training and have actively ‘opted in’ to engaging in Step One return to training.
“It will be for individual sports to agree with their athletes any conditions for their return. All athletes and staff should also be clear on their route to ‘opt out’ of the organised training environment under Step One conditions at any time without unreasonable steps being taken against them consequently.
“All athletes and staff should adhere to Government rules on social distancing when travelling to and from the training venue and should not come within the two-metre social distancing range of anyone outside their household whilst travelling to and from training.”
The Government also gave the green light for recreational open water sports and golf to resume this week.
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