Individual workouts start Wednesday
Inter Miami CF players will be allowed to work out at the club’s new Fort Lauderdale practice facility starting Wednesday for the first time in nearly two months.
Major League Soccer announced last week that players may start to use clubs’ outdoor training fields for voluntary individual workouts starting Wednesday, as long as the workouts are in compliance with social-distancing safety protocols and don’t conflict with local public health or government policies.
Inter Miami players haven’t been allowed to work out individually or as a team at the practice facility since the league suspended the season March 12 and enacted a team training moratorium. The leaguewide moratorium on smallgroup and full-team training remains in place through May 15.
As parts of the country plan to relax their stay-athome orders and start to open public part, Paul McDonough, Inter Miami COO and sporting director, said the change in training protocol has more to do with giving players safer options to work out at than the return to play being imminent.
The team will implement the following guidelines to adhere to health and safety protocols:
Players will use the team’s outdoor fields, 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.
Access to the training facilities is prohibited, including but not limited to 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.
Sanitization and disinfection plans for all training equipment and spaces between every session will be implemented.
Completion of a Standard Screening Assessment survey by each player prior to every arrival at the training site, and temperature checks upon arrival at the facility will be administered.
Staggered player and staff arrivals and departures, with designated parking spaces, will be coordinated to maintain maximum distance between vehicles.
Player use of personal protective equipment from the parking lot to the field, and again on return to the parking lot will be required.
Staff use of the appropriate personal protective equipment throughout training, while also maintaining a minimum distance of 10 feet from players is required at all times.