Clubs to vote on training proposal

Premier League clubs are to vote on proposals for a return to contact training.

Players and managers are to be consulted on the proposals ahead of the 20 clubs meeting tomorrow as Project Restart plans continue to gather pace amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Results of the latest round of Covid-19 testing, taking place yesterday and today, will also be published tomorrow.

It is expected that twice-weekly testing will continue rather than be ramped up further, and the proposals will include what to do in the event of a positive test once contact training has restarted.

UK Government guidelines on contact training stress the need for “meticulous, time and date sensitive, written records of player groups and interactions” to be kept to enable effective tracing should an individual test positive.

It is anticipated that clubs will gradually build up the level of contact, from ‘clusters’ of two to three players initially, through larger groups of four to 12 before a return to full team training, in line with government guidance.

Clubs will gather for a second meeting on Thursday, when league chief executive Richard Masters has indicated “wider issues” will be looked at.

Among those discussions could be a restart date. The league was initially working on four weeks of training – including the small group sessions which began last week – before action could resume. Based on that, the prospect of action returning in week beginning June 8 or 15 looks feasible.

No definitive votes are expected on the subjects of neutral venues or curtailment models, but both issues are likely to be discussed further.