Pre-season football preparation in the era of COVID-19: Croatian Football Association Model
Dragan Primorac, Vid Matišić, Vilim Molnar, Zoran Bahtijarević, Ozren Polašek
Abstract
ith over 3.3 million confirmed cases worldwide and over 230 000 confirmed deaths, the COVID-19 pandemic is, without doubt, the most important event of the 21st century so far. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended all areas of life - and sports is no exception. Unsurprisingly, this pandemic has also stopped the sporting calendar, with professional leagues everywhere suspending their activities to limit the spread of the virus. Guidelines for COVID-19 diagnosis change on a day-to- day basis, as we progress with primary studies and gain more. The guidelines encompass clinical criteria, epidemiological patient history, and molecular diagnostics. Football coaches are keen on perspective and realize that the challenges they face now and in the months ahead hardly compare to the hardships the world confronts during a pandemic, but the return to pre-pandemic activities requires medical guidelines.