Team’s return to Soldier Field set for Aug. 25
The Fire’s return to Soldier Field is — after months of delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic — officially back on.
Major League Soccer on Saturday announced the resumption of the regular season in home markets. Most teams will play six matches — three at home, three on the road — in the first phase of the league’s continuation of play. MLS will announce more details on the rest of the regular season at a later date, but said it hopes to begin the postseason Nov. 20 with Dec. 12 earmarked for the date of the MLS Cup.
“Since suspending play in March, we have been working on plans to play as much of our season as possible, beginning with the tournament in Florida and resuming in our local markets following the competition,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “We remain focused on the health and safety of our players, coaches and staff, and look forward to continuing our season in our home markets.”
The Fire’s first match is set for Aug. 20 on the road against the Columbus Crew before returning to Soldier Field to play FC Cincinnati on Aug. 25.
“We’re all happy that we have a schedule now,” Fire coach Raphael Wicky said during a video conference call. “We have a certain date to work toward, and we have six games we know on which days they should be played, so that’s exciting, very excited about that.”
Matches at Soldier Field during phase one will be played without fans in attendance. Other teams, however, will have fans at reduced capacity.
“What the other clubs decide is out of my control,” Wicky said. “There are experts in this country who say you’re OK to play with fans or you’re not OK to play with fans. We decided not to do it, and I’m fully supportive of that. If we go to another game with fans, we trust the experts that it’s safe and we’ll play in front of fans. Again, that’s not my domain to give a big opinion or to (say) something about other clubs’ decisions.”
MLS will attempt to navigate any potential coronavirus setbacks like Major League Baseball has had with the Marlins and Cardinals.
One aspect of MLS’ protocols calls for players, coaches and other staff to be tested every other day.
Another aspect will be same-day travel. Teams will train and play in their home markets, and travel for road games will be on chartered flights. The majority of travel will take place the day of games, with the return trip most likely coming hours after each match.
That tight schedule isn’t ideal, but Wicky said teams can rest and eat at a hotel a few hours before making their way to the stadium.
“It’s the same for everyone,” he said. “Obviously, you will fly at a certain time in the morning. The flights shouldn’t be longer than I think about two hours. The players should be rested and should be fine to play in the evening. And then after that, obviously as soon as possible, we fly back to our home state.”
MLS’ latest return to play is different from the MLS Is Back Tournament, which took place in a bubble environment at Walt Disney World and the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex outside Orlando, Fla. The Fire went 1-2-0 in the group stage of the tournament before being eliminated.
Wicky said the quick elimination from the tournament, which wraps up Tuesday night with the Portland Timbers and Orlando City playing in the final, “hurt everyone,” but the Fire are keen to prove themselves with resumption of the regular season.
“I think everyone wants to prove that we are better than the results shown down there,” he said. “I told you guys in the beginning, we are not blaming anyone else. It’s only us. We blame us. The Vancouver game was a game we shouldn’t have lost because we were dominant, we were better, but in the end in the crucial moments, those five minutes after the break, we slept for five minutes. … That’s not to blame the weather break, the referee, whatever. That’s just on us. The team took that, and knows that, and I think everyone really wants to prove that we are better.”