Polish
Prime Minister gave the green light to the return of Polski Ekstraklasa players to the football fields. They will be able to resume training on prepared facilities in accordance with the government's return to competition program. It was developed by a crisis staff appointed by the board of Ekstraklasa in cooperation with the Polish Football Association. “That's great news. The government's consent to resume training gives us a chance to implement the plan we have been working on for the last 4 weeks together with experts within the crisis staff. Unless unexpected adversities arise and the health situation in the country allows it, after passing the preparation period the league could start on May 29”, announces Marcin Animucki, President of Ekstraklasa. “In parallel, we received confirmation of information from UEFA about the possibility of completing the season by July 20. Thus, the necessary conditions that I mentioned two weeks ago came true and we have the chance not only to resume, but also to finish the competition”, adds Animucki. According to UEFA guidelines, each federation is to do everything to finish the season on the pitch in the current formula of the competition. Polski Ekstraklasa can play until July 20, while federations from places 1-15 in the UEFA ranking up to August 3.
According to the plan's assumptions, players and training staff (50 people from each club) will undergo rigorous training on medical procedures until the end of the season (or as required by the health situation in the country), enabling safe ending of the competition. From the beginning of the week, these groups will begin 14-day sports isolation and daily reporting according to a detailed - and uniform for the entire league - medical survey, aimed at early detection of possible symptoms of disease. The next stages of restarting the Polski Ekstraklasa games according to the plan approved by the government:
3-4 May: tests of players and staff members
4 May: training in groups of players
10 May: team training
27-28 May: tests of players, staff members and referees
29-31 May: resuming competition (matchday 27)
18-19 July: end of the season, this allowing the participation of Polish teams in the qualifying rounds for European cups.
Each time point of the plan depends on the epidemic situation in the country and the recommendations of the Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of Health and GIS. Matches will be played without the participation of the public until cancellation of restrictions imposed by the government. The necessary minimum group of people will be indicated for the match service. Ekstraklasa has already begun work on the procedure specifying organizational details that will be guidelines for clubs and media partners of the games.
Source: Ekstraklasa
