MLS relaxes training rules, Inter Miami may start individual workouts on Wednesday
Inter Miami took a small step toward normalcy on Friday after Major League Soccer announced it will relax rules and allow players to return to team training grounds for individual workouts on outdoor fields, so long as it complies with local COVID-19 ordinances.
The change goes into effect Wednesday May 6, and was made after the league consulted with medical and infectious disease experts. The individual workouts are voluntary.
Under the new rules, practice fields will be divided into a maximum of four quadrants per field. A maximum of one player per quadrant may participate per training session with no equipment sharing or playing (passing, shooting) between players. There will be a 12- to 15-foot space between the grids.
The new protocol prohibits access to club facilities such as locker rooms, team gyms, and team training rooms. Team gyms and training rooms may still only be accessed by players receiving post-operative and rehabilitation treatment, as directed by the club’s Chief Medical Officer.
Inter Miami officials have devised a detailed plan, submitted it to team doctors for approval and will then present it to Fort Lauderdale government officials and the league. They expect to get answers by Monday or Tuesday.
“The concern is the guys have been at home, trying to exercise at home, and nothing’s been open, so they’ve been running on the streets, and we’re worried about them risking injures,” said Paul McDonough, Inter Miami’s COO and Sporting Director. “As parks begin to open, we think it’s a good opportunity, if we can devise a plan where we respect social distancing and bring players to the site, where they can work out alone.”
The Inter Miami training facility is on a 64-acre site in Fort Lauderdale and includes six grass fields and a turf field that would allow for the necessary separation.
“I feel confident our plan will get approved,” McDonough said. “We have enough space. We are just figuring out the best way to do this.”
McDonough is satisfied with how the club’s front-office staff, coaches and players have continued to work during the quarantine. He said team ownership has not had to lay off of furlough any club employees.
“There are a lot of unknowns for us, we’re trying to deal with the new normal,” he said. “Everything is up in the air, a lot of scenarios on the table. We are monitoring everything. The hard part for the league is that it’s such a big, diverse country and some people are coming out of it, some are in the middle of it. There’s been a lot of man hours put in to trying to find alternatives to get the season in.”
Before allowing any player workouts, each team must submit to MLS a plan that outlines how the club will:
- Restrict facility access to just players and essential staff.
- Sanitize and disinfect all training equipment between workouts (including balls, cones and goals)
- Conduct temperature checks and health screenings for players upon arrival
- Stagger arrivals and departures
- Enforce that players wear personal protective equipment between parking lot and field
- Enforce that staff use personal protective equipment throughout training and maintain a minimum distance of 10 feet from players at all times.
- Provide hand washing and disinfectant stations.
- Enact an Emergency Action Plan for COVID-19-related issues.
The league-wide moratorium on small group and full team training remains in place through, and including, Friday, May 15. No matches will be played until at least June 8. MLS officials have said they hope to play a full season, even if it means extending the season through December.
MLS suspended play on Mar. 19, two days before Inter Miami was scheduled to play its long-awaited inaugural home opener against the Los Angeles Galaxy. A sellout crowd was expected. The team lost its first two games on the road, 1-0 at Los Angeles FC on Mar. 1 and 2-1 at D.C. United on Mar. 7.
“It’s baby steps, but I feel good because it’s moving toward normalcy,” McDonough said of the new training rules. “I’m happy the players won’t have to run on the streets anymore. They can come and run around good fields and then go home and be with their families.”
In between dealing with the league suspension and pandemic, the club has been busy shopping for two more elite players. The COVID-19 situation has made it more complicated.
“We’re still seeing what opportunities are there for us, but there are so many things going on right now with league schedules changing around the world, what are the economics now because a lot of teams are taking hits, and then what does immigration look like,” McDonough said. “There are a lot of facets that go into it.”