Indian football season to begin on October 8

BENGALURU: The delayed football season in the country will finally kickstart with I-League qualifiers next month amid strict COVID-19 protocols.

The AIFF said that event will be held from October 8 to 19 at two venues in West Bengal. All the five participating teams, who will battle it out for a single slot in the I-League, and match officials, will reside in a Kolkata hotel.

They will be monitored through regular checks including body temperature, oxygen level as well as RT-PCR tests on pre-determined dates.

As per the AIFF’s standard operating procedures (SOP), members of the five teams have to undergo Covid-19 tests twice and need to produce negative reports before entering the hotel.

While the first test must be conducted between September 15 and 18, the second one will need to be done between September 22 and 23. However, it is important to mention that the entire hotel has not been booked for them, but some special arrangements have been made to keep players and officials isolated.

“No one from the outside world will come in contact with them,” League CEO Sunando Dhar told this daily.

“There is a special area for them to eat, they will not be coming down to any of the restaurants or the coffee shop. There are exclusive meeting rooms for them and exclusive gym timings as well.”

With four teams featuring on the opening day, they will have to report to the hotel on September 25.

AIFF’S SOP

• AIFF will prepare a bio-secure bubble. All teams will be put up in a five-star hotel in Kolkata

• Prior to reporting, team members need to undertake RT-PCR test (Gold-standard test) twice

• Once in hotel, first test will be conducted on September 28. Next tests on October 4, 9 and 19