"Professional sports activities are suspended. The possibility of carrying out outdoor activities has not been approved," clarified Andrea Sotomayor, Secretary of Sports, referring to the resolution of the National COE (Emergency Operations Committee) to suspend the authorization for professional sports training last Friday "due to arbitrariness and non-compliance with established norms."
This change has particularly affected football, as LigaPro had tentatively scheduled to start training on June 8.
"During the emergency, coordination was carried out so that all protocols are aligned with those of the Secretary of Sports, but LigaPro's protocol had not yet been approved. It was released on Thursday at 6:00 PM, but one team (Emelec) had already trained that day without an approved protocol," Sotomayor said in statements disseminated by the Secretariat.
"There are a series of rules that must be followed in the protocol, such as the requirement for athletes to undergo a COVID-19 test seven days before starting activities. However, if the protocol is not approved, they cannot train because they do not know the guidelines to follow. This helps to frame the problem and understand why the suspension is necessary," clarified Sotomayor.
Although the impact on football is the most significant at the moment, "it is an issue that affects professional sports in general because in this case it was the protocol that was not followed. We are not against a club or a sports organization, this is a general measure. Unfortunately, in order to address any issues or analyze necessary adjustments to the protocol, we must suspend the protocol for professional sports," she expressed.
Extending my message to act with unity, responsibility, and a spirit of collaboration. Players are human beings and therefore their lives are at risk, as well as those of their families and all the people in their environment. https://t.co/SaeUtmXkF7
— Andrea Sotomayor (@ASotomayorEcu) May 31, 2020
Sotomayor stated that the regulations for professionals will be reanalyzed; however, it will depend on the agenda of the National COE, "as they have a list of requests to analyze cases and situations from various sectors, not only sports," she said.
According to the Sports Secretary, the next decision will be to specify a definitive date for the return to training. "This will be put in writing to avoid these types of confusions that are not good for professional sports in general, not just football. Other athletes are unhappy because it didn't even happen in their sport, and this prevents them from training as quickly as they thought," she pointed out. (D)