The Corona situation is one not under control, and both in the UK and over here in Scandinavia we are waiting for the football to start up again. The situation is treated differently from country to country, but all in all, to believe league games will be played in the near future looks totally unlikely.
A top expert in Norway, Bjorn Guldvog, said he couldn’t see games 11 v 11 being played during the year of 2020, meaning they have to overrule the distance of 2 meters. He is a leader of health in Norway and a former athlete himself, he knows his business. That is a grim prediction but we believe the leader of health is close to the truth and that his talk is based on facts of knowledge, and not just trying to “stop the fun”.
In Norway you have a type of lock down, but we have not seen a curfew, but of course restriction on travelling, a number of trades such as hairdressers and physiotherapists among those have been shut down and in the capitol they have not been allowed to serve alcohol. The situation in Norway is among the best, but with schools and kindergartens again opening next week, you might see a new top again as people are afraid this will see a new virus spread. A key factor in Norway is the distance between people, how we live and a more non bacterial flora than in several other countries in Europe. This might affect the reason why so few have died of the virus so far. Another key reason could be that the digital life over here. All ages have basic knowledge and access to it.
Sweden who have another approach have not stopped players from training and the distance between players is not a topic. Though they have stopped practicing matches, which was allowed just a week ago.
After reading Leicester Mercury today and seeing their story about how football again could start up, with the virus still in circulation, looks like a very risky project and one not to follow. What we need to know more exactly is when you have a vaccine, when you have medicines who will break down the viruses 100% and when playing football again is seen as “safe”, then a date will be set. Players are back in training in Norway, at least those who have not been given a lay off by their club can train as long as they are following the health authorities guide lines, which says no contact, keep your distance and so on. Footballs must be sprayed and cleaned during sessions and it’s working in a way, but of course far from ideal and also far from a football practice as we all know and are used to.
If you look to China, who had the first breakout of the virus, they are still not back, no date for a startup is set and they might be a couple of months in front. Former Manchester United and Everton midfielder Mauroane Fellaini , a player in the Chinese league, is currently in quarantine after contracting the virus. This might be a warning to everyone that if players start to feel symptoms and are getting ill, such dates of a startup will have to be pushed forward.
The health authorities in Norway are a group of careful people and they are probably more close to the answer than any footballing experts just wishing everything would vanish and that we all could go back to normal ways, but that looks impossible and a far distant thought.
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