MLS was two weeks into the 2020 season before pausing for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the league announced that it’s easing restrictions on training, and will allow players to use outdoor fields for individual workouts beginning next Wednesday, May 6th. They will not, however, be allowed to use indoor facilities, like the weight room or pool, unless they are specifically undergoing supervised injury rehab.

These are the rules teams still need to follow:

  • Restricting training facility access to essential staff only, with specific staff listed in the plan.
  • Sanitization and disinfection plans for all training equipment and spaces, including disinfection of any equipment used by players (balls, cones, goals) between every session.
  • Completion of a Standard Screening Assessment survey by each player prior to every arrival at the training site, and temperature checks upon arrival at the facility.
  • Staggered player and staff arrivals and departures, with designated parking spaces to maintain maximum distance between vehicles.
  • Player use of personal protective equipment from the parking lot to the field, and again on return to the parking lot.
  • Staff use of the appropriate personal protective equipment throughout training, while also maintaining a minimum distance of 10 feet from players at all times.
  • Hand washing and disinfectant stations for required use before and after individual workouts.
  • Clubs will have the use of the outdoor fields at their training facility, divided into a maximum of four quadrants per field. A maximum of one player per quadrant may participate per training session with no equipment sharing or playing (passing, shooting) between players.
  • An Emergency Action Plan for all COVID-19 related issues.

I guess that’s reasonable. I don’t know. They’re just trying to be safe.

One thing that’s ridiculous, however, is the restriction on passing and shooting. You can absolutely safely put four guys on a field and have them pass the ball back and forth at a distance of 10, 20, or 30 yards. You can shoot on an empty net or deploy sanitized training dummies and work on bending your free kicks over the wall. These guys aren’t out there licking, touching, or coughing on the soccer ball.

But, it’s a start. Perhaps Major League Baseball, the NBA, and NHL will be following along shortly with eased restrictions of their own. Let’s hope so.