As with many sports, amateur footballers will have to show their health pass. This will indeed be mandatory to resume playing football in a club, the French Football Federation announced on Saturday.
The FFF has also scheduled the start of national amateur competitions in August. For the regional and departmental championships, stopped last season in October in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the authority plans a re-entry “in September”. “This expected recovery is made possible by the implementation of the health pass from the first training sessions and matches of the season”, explains the FFF.
No pass for children under 12
“The health pass will be required to be able to play football and access the changing rooms and stands before each training session or each competitive match”. The FFF also specifies that the introduction of the pass for young players, aged between 12 and 17, is scheduled for September 30. Children under 12 are exempt.
“We are aware that the health pass is an additional constraint for our licensees and our clubs. But this measure appears today as the safest solution to resume football while protecting our practitioners as well as possible. Their health is our priority ”, justifies the president of the FFF, Noël Le Graët, quoted in the press release. Since July 21, the pass has been compulsory in places of leisure and culture (cinemas, museums, etc.) which bring together more than 50 people. It must be extended in August to coffee shops, fairs and exhibitions, planes, trains and long-distance coaches, as well as to medical establishments.