The Danish American Football Federation, DAFF, has announced it will gradually relax the lockdown of all football activities and allow teams to practice again.
According to federation officials, a semblance of a league or tournament will be held in August but there are no details as yet.
The rules set out for practice are extremely rigid and may be subject to change depending of course on the situation which is fluid. DAFF follows the recommendations of the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark, DIF, and the Danish health authorities, and will only open up for practice to the extent possible within these recommendations.
Basically, only outdoor practices are allowed in groups of a maximum of 10 (coach and nine players, two coaches and eight players) on a full-size football/soccer field and there has to be two meters between players. The field can be divided into zones, but the groups of 10 must remain in their respective zones. Players must arrive at practice, which is helmets only, fully ready to go. A minimum amount of contact may be permitted. Locker rooms and meeting rooms are still off limits while washrooms can be opened but only after strict cleaning and no lineups. Clubhouses can be opened for administrative work.
One person must be assigned as the Corona officer, responsible for ensuring that all the new rules and regulations are adhered to at every practice.
Lars Carlsen, president of the Danish American Football Federation:
“We are very thrilled and happy that we now, after more than eight weeks, are allowed back out on the field again. Even if it is only very limited and under tight restrictions, it is positive and a step in the direction of getting back to a “normality” of some sort, where we can play games and possibly have a tournament.
We have postponed the season to open up in August and the way things are going right now in Denmark it looks positive that we will be able to do so. It might be with a limited number of spectators or completely without in the beginning, but the important thing is that we can give all players an opportunity to be out on the field and compete against each other in the greatest sport in the world.”
To date, a total of 10,713 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Denmark with 537 deaths attributed to the virus. The country, which was one of the first in Europe to go into lockdown, is slowly easing restrictions.