Lockdown eased, waiting to start
By May 19, St. Kitts and Nevis had declared that all the 15 conrmed COVID19 cases had recovered and there was no casualty.
Despite the lockdown measures being eased, the dualisland nation situated in the Caribbean is yet to swing back to sporting action, according to footballer Gerard Williams, who returned home after his stint with Ileague side TRAU FC was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We still can’t resume sports events here despite easing lockdown measures,” said Williams. “We can’t have large gatherings. We are hoping the professional football league can start from July as scheduled. When it comes to sports there is no cricket, no football ...nothing right now. We still have a curfew in place. We can step out only between 5 a.m. and midnight.”
The midelder has recently resumed personal training to get in shape before the professional football season kicks o in July. “I am trying to do my own personal workout until I get the green light to go back to India,” says Williams, who had been to India previously in 2017 with his national team for a trination tournament.
Despite the increase in COVID cases in India, Williams is keen on returning to TRAU. “I enjoyed my time with TRAU, we tried our best [last season]. Unfortunately, the virus disrupted the football season,” said Williams of TRAU’S fthplace nish in its maiden Ileague campaign.
The 32yearold added, “I don’t have any apprehensions about travelling to India. I just need to make sure that I keep myself safe when I get there. I am getting older and I need to take all the opportunities that come my way.”
The free agent hopes to have his future resolved in the coming months. Williams says, “I have the option of playing in the professional league, but I will need to get the international transfer clearance from India to play. I need to assess my options; I can’t waste the time between July and October by not doing anything. Wherever I play next, I would like my contract to begin from August.
He added, “TRAU has lot of interest in me and they want me to come back. I believe I have plenty to oer as well.”
Tanzania became the rst African country to resume its national football league on June 13 after declaring itself COVID19 free on June ■. The 20team Tanzania Premier League had come to a grinding halt in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ally Mohamedi, who plays for Namungo FC, shared his experience of playing football in the postcoronavirus times in a chat with Sportstar.
“It’s great to start playing football again. We are happy to be back,” said Ally from Tanzania. The 26yearold elaborated on the changes that have been brought in since the resumption.
“The Health Ministry of Tanzania released a set of guidelines for all clubs to follow. They must provide clean and safe water to everyone. Our temperature is checked while entering the stadium and once more at halftime. We must enter the stadium in masks. At the interval, the authorities sanitise the corner poles and the goal post.”
The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has also ensured that social distancing is followed. The players and sta on the bench have to sit at a onemetre distance from each other and must wear masks and gloves. Sanitisers are adequately available in the stadiums.
The Namungo FC leftback Ally discussed the dierence in training after the hiatus. “We started training three weeks prior to the start of the league. While we use the gyms and showers normally, where everyone can use the facilities together, the difference lies in warmups. Only a maximum of threefour players can warmup at one time and all the drills are done individually,” he said.
“Moreover, we try and avoid handshakes as much as possible and once a team scores a goal, the celebrations are relatively muted and quieter,” Ally added. The dressing rooms are fumigated before and after the match but there are no further restrictions for the players.
Ally, who had previously played for clubs Maji Maji and Ndanda, revealed that the spectators have been allowed to come and watch the game but they must maintain social distancing. “The (Health) Ministry has strictly mentioned that fans must maintain a distance of one metre from each other and no stadium is lled to its maximum capacity.”
However, the elderly and the children are barred from entering the ground due to their vulnerability of contracting the virus. Those entering the stadium have to wear masks, wash their hands with soap or use a sanitiser and get their temperature checked.
Namungo FC is currently placed fourth in the league table with 54 points, while runaway leader Simba FC has already bagged 75 points after matchday 30.