The FAI recently announced that all levels of football could return to training from Monday, June 15. This was welcome news to all of us involved in the game who are anxious to get back training and playing.
The protocol documents sent to clubs by the FAI included a number of conditions that clubs must meet before they resume training in order to ensure the safety of players and coaches.
The documents are publicly-available on the FAI’s wesbite.
The conditions for the return to training place a huge onus on clubs in terms of risk assessment, coaching arrangements, facility management and insurance. For underage players, these changes must be considered in the context of Child Welfare and Child Protection requirements.
The FAI has also requested that clubs with multiple teams stagger their return.
The safety of coaches and players, especially children, is something we take seriously.
With that in mind, our senior men’s SSE Airtricity League Premier Division team and Women’s National League team will return to training on a pilot basis in the week beginning June 15.
COVID-19 Officers have been appointed and a risk assessment of the training facilities has been completed in preparation for this.
We will review and evaluate this pilot programme weekly with a view to planning the return of our underage National League sides (male and female) and then our Academy teams.
