The Premier League is to introduce mandatory COVID-19 testing for academy staff and players from next week, reports Philip Buckingham.
The Athletic understands that at a meeting on Wednesday it was confirmed that clubs will be required to carry out lateral flow tests twice-weekly.
When will the new testing system be introduced?
It is scheduled to be implemented from the start of next week, commencing on Monday, January 25.
Why has this been introduced?
This was a decision made by the Premier League after consultation with academies.
Some clubs already had increased levels of testing in place, and at least one club outside the Premier League had already moved to test players and staff twice a week for all three age groups in the Professional Development Phase — under-17, under-18 and under-23.
Have there been issues with COVID-19 at academy level?
Staff have been more affected than players but it is not believed that infections have been widespread.
This move will be a precautionary one to limit the spread as much as possible and to ensure the risk remains as low as possible.
Chelsea reported a COVID-19 outbreak at their academy last week, although it is not thought to have affected the first team as they train separately.
The Athletic revealed on Tuesday that the academy was due to reopen on Wednesday after a deep clean of the facilities.
What does this mean for academy football?
The government has determined that football is an ‘elite’ sport but the Premier League informed all clubs to close their academies for the under-9 to under-15 age groups, while the games programme for Under-16s has been cancelled and the FA Youth Cup was also suspended last week.
It is thought that will not return until at least schools are back with in-person teaching.
However, under-18 and under-23 football is continuing. It is understood that any return does not require government approval and would be decided by the Premier League.
There is no imminent threat of a blanket closure for academies, and it is unlikely that such a step will be taken unless the situation dramatically worsens.