These are the Bundesliga’s measures against COVID-19

The Bundesliga returned on May 16 and we saw, for the first time, what the future of sports might look like as long as we continue under this pandemic. Here in LatinAmerican Post we bring you some of the precautions that the German league is taking and the criticisms that are being made about it. If you have further questions, you can consult them in this 50-page document, available online.

Stadiums without fans

One of the most relevant guidelines in the document is that a maximum of 300 people will be allowed in the stadium during any match, which will be divided into three “zones” which will have 100 people each.

These areas are:

• The interior of the stadium (Mainly for players, substitutes and coaches)
• The stands (Mainly for press and journalists)
• The exterior of the stadium (Mainly to keep fans away from the stadium. In this section there are 50 security guards)

Strict preparation

Players have various obligations before starting to play a match. These range from arrival at the stadium to entry as such. Without starting because they must spend a week isolated in a hotel before the game, the members of the teams, in addition, must arrive in different buses, use their car to go to local games, and coordinate with rival teams to arrive at different times.

In lockers, players must keep a distance of 1.5 meters from each other and change in the shortest time possible. Additionally, they must use a mask. In the tunnel of the players they must maintain the social distance between them and take turns leaving.

Already on the field, all kinds of additions that we normally enjoy in soccer, such as children, pets, team photos, handshake, etc., were prohibited. Similarly, coaches and technical personnel must maintain a distance of 1.5 meters between them. These measures, although they were successfully implemented a few days ago in the Borussia Dortmund match, have been widely questioned, as there is no sense for the players to take them between themselves if they are ultimately going to be making physical contact with each other. others when they are in the field. Falcao ruled on the matter:

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Some fans have taken it a little further, like this German who left a sofa in protest in front of the FC Köln stadium.

Safety for all

What is certain is that the German measures to guarantee the safety of its players are meticulous and extremely detailed. We are not going to bombard you with the full list of 33 measures, which you can find in the previous document, but we show you the most important (or curious):

• Upon entering the stadium, an agent will ask anyone who enters for symptoms and will measure their temperature if they report positive symptoms.
• Hand sanitizer should be provided in each room as much as possible
• The balls must be disinfected before and after each game.
• Players' meals must be prepared before they enter the stadium.
• Players are suggested to shower at home
• All people in the stadium must wear masks without exception
• Only personal and disposable water bottles are allowed

For now, all 9 matches on the 26th date have been fully played and it is expected that the same amount will be played from now on each date.

The Bundesliga has commented that according to them, the prevention measures against the coronavirus have been a success. In an interview with The Guardian, the sports director of Eintracht Frankfurt, commented that the league would serve as "a litmus test" for the other sports leagues in the world. Additionally, he mentioned that he had received multiple calls from American basketball, soccer, and baseball clubs asking for his help and asking about the logistics behind the league's return.