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The Colombian government and Dimayor have a common concern: to give a boost to the soccer industry, stalled after the suspension of the Liga Betplay I 2020 due to the cov-19 coronavrus.
In fact, it could be said that they share the need to return behind closed doors, as it seems will happen in other leagues in the world and as the only way to fulfill sponsorship commitments and television rights without risking hundreds of viewers.
President Iván Duque finally relented and that seems to be the way to resume competition, as confirmed by the Minister of Sport, Ernesto Lucena: “Open door would be very complicated, but it is analyzed how it would be behind closed doors.”
However, they do not entirely agree on the implementation of that idea, on the effectiveness of the protocol that Dimayor presented and that in 66 pages tries to address a large number of details, with the best good intention but without a real certainty that the 25 players and at least 15 additional technical and logistical staff, plus the referees and stadium staff, will be 100 percent isolated from the virus.
Minister Lucena, in a statement to Acord, summarizes that concern in at least three points, which concern him and surely the Ministry of Health, which will take a few days before sending his own doubts about the possibility.
The health issue is definitive, but there are also other uncertainties:
1. Security guarantees
Soccer, being the largest industry, has additional considerations. The health of players and the environment is essential, “said Lucena, taking orders from the President:” health above all else. ”
And he opened the door: “That does not mean that health and the return of sport cannot be reconciled from now on.” When? Literally when possible.
“You can not be eager to fill private interests, the eagerness must be to protect footballers and the environment in a return.”
Lucena sent her questions to Dimayor on Monday to enrich the protocol, as recently announced by the president of Millonarios in an interview with FUTBOLRED. The previous moment, the development and the post-match must be assured.
How? And in 66 pages everything fits, the displacements, the concentrations, the courts and the returns home, everything is included. But the Government understands that the covid-19 tests that will be done are the basic ones, which include taking the temperature and a general review, since there is no logistics to do them in depth and on a large scale, a headache for the entire country in the emergency. . How to guarantee that none, absolutely none, have contact with an infected patient in their residences, in the public places that they frequent, in a corridor or a waiting room? There are no certainties. And everyone knows that. The negotiating ability of the soccer bosses will have a lot of weight …
What do they do in the rest of the world?
Given the uncertainty, the best option, for Mindeporte, would be to look in other mirrors, learn from other experiences, not be the first league to return but rather see what contingencies arise on the ground and then take the plunge.
“Sport must be taken comprehensively, you have to look at what is happening in the world and in Latin America,” said Lucena.
And eye to the announcement: “We hope to meet with the president of Conmebol, Alejandro Domínguez, and we hope to have meetings with heads and ministers of sport to then mount the strategy of reopening football,” he said. Remote meetings, solid arguments, evidence and more evidence. ‘They have them, but they are delayed,’ they would say around there…
The economic issue
Another matter that is on the government’s radar, although Dimayor does not like that someone wants to get involved in his accounts, is how to pay for the so exhaustive protocol that was presented.
“It will be discussed, but it must be guaranteed where those resources will come from because the government could not enter to make contributions to the application of the protocol,” said Lucena. That concern is shared by the soccer association, Acolfutpro, which in the last few hours asked for clarity on the subject. If you were thinking there would be public money for recovery, that door, at least for now, is still closed.
What cannot happen, under any circumstances, is that the cost of the crisis is transferred to the workers: “The financial stability of the clubs is important for everyone, they must seek the salaries of the players and their administrative person, they must have sustainability by an industry on which many people depend ”, concluded the Minister.
Message to those who allege that they cannot pay wages, that the agreements are obligatory and for survival, that they are going to break: the eyes of the Ministry of Labor are open and the return, whenever it occurs, will not be at any price.
