The government have informed the HKFA that it will not allow teams to resume group training sessions until the number of untraceable cases remains steady at single digits.
Ever since Premier League clubs agreed to suspend team training sessions beginning on 2 December, there have been little progress towards either the resumption of group sessions or a return to play. The government have shuttered all public recreation facilities and banned social gatherings of more than people, leading some to speculate that football would not return until after the Lunar New Year holidays.
Several key stakeholders in the game, including Lee Man head coach Chan-Hiu-ming, have called for the government to reopen its venues to clubs, given that football is a professional sport. Others, such as Rangers Chief Consultant Peter Leung, have demanded of the HKFA to take more aggressive actions to reopen the Football Training Centre and the Kitchee Training Centre – both of which are private facilities. The HKFA, nevertheless, have maintained that they are in constant communication with the government, but no definitive timelines have been received.
However, a report surfaced on Thursday that the government have responded to the HKFA with a list of benchmarks which must be met in order for team training to resume. It is understood that chief among the benchmarks is the government’s desire to see the number of new COVID cases fall to single digits for several consecutive days.
According to statistics from the Centre for Health Protection, 13 untraceable cases were recorded on Thursday in addition to 11 on Wednesday. Over the past 14 days, 169 cases came from unknown sources – an average of 12 per day. The number of cases overall have been in decline since Christmas and there is hope that if there is no spike the number of cases following the post-Christmas incubation period, the government’s target can be met in the coming week. Should the number of untraceable cases remain at double digits, it is not believed that there is any chance of a resumption of training.
In addition to a reduction in cases, the government have asked the HKFA to step up their safety protocols. The clubs and the HKFA have reportedly agreed to the government’s demand by strengthening the testing regimen, transportation arrangements and other home quarantine measures.
Since the last round of matches was played on 29 November, 26 matches in total have been postponed by the HKFA. Even if the government were to give the green light next week for training to resume, coaches around the league believe that at least two to three weeks of training are necessary in order to rebuild their players’ fitness levels. This would mean that matches would not resume until early to mid February, close to the speculated Lunar New Year timeline.
There is also great hesitancy amongst clubs to extend the season beyond the end of June due to the fact that many player contracts will end at that point. With 89 matches remaining in the season, this will almost assuredly lead to many weeks where clubs will be asked to play twice – a challenge for many players who have never dealt with the rigours of continental competition.
