Leeds United, West Brom, Cardiff City and Swansea City given huge promotion boost as update revealed
Ahead of a big week for football, an update has emerged that moves matters in a positive direction
Cardiff City and Swansea City were still very much in the play-off reckoning when the Championship season was halted
BBC
Monday 25th May 2020
Cardiff City and Swansea City have received a huge restart boost after the English government released its “phase two” guidance for athletes and elite sportsmen and women.
This next stage will enable footballers to return to close-contact and competitive training, provided it has the “appropriate carefully controlled medical conditions in place”.
Both public health officials and sports medical officers have contributed to the guidelines, with “stage three” of the government’s protocols expected to centre around a return to action in June.
The new guidelines state that: “Stage Two training can be described as the resumption of close contact (interaction within the two-metre social distancing boundary) training where pairs, small groups and/or teams will be able to interact in much closer contact (e.g. close quarters coaching, combat sports sparring, teams sports tackling, technical equipment sharing, etc).
“This new guidance marks the latest phase of a carefully phased return to training process for elite athletes, designed to limit the risk of injury and protect the health and safety of all involved,” England's Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said.
“We are absolutely clear that individual sports must review whether they have the appropriate carefully controlled medical conditions in place before they can proceed, and secure the confidence of athletes, coaches and support staff.
“Given the wide-ranging input we have received from medical experts, we believe these pragmatic measures should provide further reassurance that a safe, competitive training environment can be delivered, as we work towards a restart of professional sport behind closed doors when it is safe to do so.”
The Welsh government last week gave Cardiff and Swansea the green light to return to training, with players expected at their respective bases on Monday. Dafydd Elis Thomas, deputy minister for culture, sport and tourism, laid out the Welsh government's stance in statement released last Thursday.
He wrote: "The Welsh coronavirus restrictions regulations require everyone to work from home where possible; where that is not possible, employers must take all reasonable measures to comply with the physical distancing duty. In a professional sporting context, this means that training for our professional sportspeople can continue provided the clubs – as employers – can take all reasonable measures to maintain physical distancing in the workplace, whether that’s at a training ground or at a stadium.
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