[Sport] As coronavirus cases arise, hundreds of footballers jet off thousands of thousands round the world

[S e u o n g]

 

As many countries grapple with a second wave of coronavirus cases, hundreds of footballers have flown thousands of thousands around the world to play international fixtures.

According to players union FIFPro, 251 players - more than half of which play in Spain, Italy, the US, Mexico and the UK - face long cross-continental trips back to South America, where the grueling World Cup qualifying process begins this week.
Many of those players will be flying directly from clubs based in areas that have experienced new lockdown measures - such as Liverpool and Everton in the north of England and Real and Atletico in Madrid, Spain - and will then be traveling between countries in South America.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has expressed concerns about the safety protocols in place to prevent players catching or spreading the virus on their travels.
The club has seen its own mini outbreak after Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara missed Sunday's 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa due to positive tests, before Xherdan Shaqiri tested positive on Tuesday.

 

Shaqiri had already traveled to Switzerland to report for international duty before the Swiss Football Association confirmed he had tested positive, raising the question about the wisdom of holding an international break during a pandemic.
The Ukrainian Football Association also confirmed on Tuesday that two of its players had tested positive ahead of a friendly match in the French capital of Paris, a city which has just closed bars, gyms and swimming pools for two weeks and raised the coronavirus alert to maximum following a spike in cases.

 

'Spirit of solidarity'
FIFA's 'Return to Football - International Match Protocol' is designed to keep players safe while on international duty.
Advice ranges from basic coronavirus guidelines, such as hygiene, social distancing and contact tracing, to regulations on pre-match testing.
However, FIFA stresses that it isn't in a position to determine what each country should do and, as such, the advice from local health authorities to each confederation takes precedence over its own protocols.
UEFA, European football's governing body, also has its own 'Return to Play' protocol, which includes certain medical and organizational obligations for venues hosting international fixtures.
Clubs and national team federations have long endured tense relationships around players' schedules due to the congested nature of the international football calendar.
FIFA says it "strongly urges all member associations, clubs and players to work together in a spirit of solidarity to share information and find compromises for the benefit of all parties concerned under the regulatory framework that has now been temporarily adapted."