There have been numerous meetings about how the Premier League clubs will build up to playing their usual close contact games when the season restarts, but this first week will be simply a test to see whether resuming “contact training” will cause a rise in the number of coronavirus cases or not.
A report on Sky said: Premier League clubs voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a return to contact training, in another significant step towards the resumption of matches “when safe to do so”.
The significance of contact training is that it’s the single biggest step towards the resumption of matches.
Throughout the pandemic, there have been concerns raised about the risks associated with training and what it takes for coronavirus to be transmitted on the pitch.
If there is no spike in positive tests, with fewer negative results over more tests, it will give the authorities, and clubs, the confidence that it will be safe to resume competitive games next month.
So, this is just the first step, and it remains to be seen if a jump in positive tests will force clubs to back-track and rethink about whether the season can be restarted safely.
This decision comes after yet another four people from three Premier League clubs have tested positive for coronavirus after the third round of testing, and these tests will be continued throughout the contact training phase to view any anomalies in the numbers.
Just the fact that we are still seeing positive cases, despite the supposedly strict isolation guidelines in place, is evidence that some people are not respecting the rules and I can see no reason why cases will not increase once contact training comes into play..
This is a crucial time in the race to resuming games, but surely everyone knows this is a very risky manouevre that could could backfire very quickly…