May 7 – Brazilian clubs and the country’s president Jair Bolsonaro have been advocating a quick return of the domestic game, but those plans received a reality check on Wednesday when Flamengo announced 38 out of 293 tests for the coronavirus it had conducted came back positive.
In an official statement the reigning the Brazilian champions said that the 38 confirmed cases in the club included three players. The club said that the 38 confirmed cases were asymptomatic and two showed the existence of antibodies.
Flamengo said that those members of staff and players that tested positive will now go into quarantine. “(We are) working in full harmony with government authorities in order to, with full responsibility and security, collaborate with the important return to football activities in the shortest possible time,” said a club statement.
On Monday, the club’s masseur Jorge Luiz Domingos passed away after contracting the coronavirus. He was the longest-serving member of Flamengo’s back room staff. In April, head coach Jorge Jesus also tested positive, though doubts persist over the conclusive nature of those tests.
The football federation of Rio de Janeiro had authorised clubs within its jurisdiction to resume training, but its guidelines remained ambiguous. Local state authorities however prohibited staging any training sessions. The situation leaves Flamengo’s plans for an accelerated restart of the game in limbo.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and Brazilian clubs have been seeking a way out of the health crisis by drawing up plans for a resumption of play, even if the country is in a meltdown following the haphazard policies and incendiary rants of its president Bolsonaro.
Brazil’s head of state has been proponent of football’s return, arguing that that there is little risk, since the players are young, healthy athletes. Brazil has registered 126,611 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 8,588 Brazilians have passed away, according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University, but the South American country is rapidly becoming the next coronavirus hotspot.
In March, the CBF suspended all national football competitions for an indefinite period and the state federations abandoned the state championships soon after.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1734925616labto1734925616ofdlr1734925616owedi1734925616sni@o1734925616fni1734925616