Major League Soccer has withdrawn FC Dallas from its tournament near Orlando, Florida, after 10 players and a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus, MLS officials announced Monday.
The positive evidence came after the team arrived in Florida on July 1, where the tournament begins Wednesday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort. All of the team’s players, coaches and staff were quarantined in their rooms as of Saturday, according to The Associated Press.
“Given the impact of the number of positive tests on the club’s ability to train and play competitive games, we have made the decision to withdraw FC Dallas from the MLS Back Back tournament,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.
Three players from two other teams also tested positive for the virus, with a total of 13 out of 557 players in Florida. The remaining 25 clubs are set to compete in the month-long tournament, as MLS becomes one of the first professional sports leagues to compete again in North America. The National Women’s Soccer League is underway, and the NBA and WNBA will hold similar tournaments in Florida in late July.
FC Dallas head coach Luchi González agreed with the league’s decision to withdraw the team from the tournament, according to a team statement. The team is scheduled to return to Frisco, Texas, following Florida and Texas security protocols. Both states have seen a significant increase in infections in the past week, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week ordered residents to wear face masks in public to contain the spread.
“We hope to resume the 2020 season once the whole club is healthy and able to play competitive matches at the highest level,” said FC Dallas President Dan Hunt.
His team isn’t the only component missing from the MLS comeback: 2019 MLS MVP and reigning scoring champion Carlos Vela, a Los Angeles Football Club forward, announced he would skip the season for family reasons. .
“I always want to give everything I have to my Club, our fans and supporters and the city of Los Angeles,” he said in a statement. “However, the best thing for my family’s health is to stay home and be with my wife during a risky pregnancy.”
