Reopening elite sport during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Experiences from a controlled return to elite football in Denmark

Pedersen, Lars; Lindberg, Jens; Lind, Rune Rasmussen; Rasmusen, Hanne

As the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection rate decreased in spring 2020, phased reopening of Danish society began, including a reopening of elite football (soccer), adhering to a strict protocol. In this study, we report the consequences of resumption of competitive play in the two best football (soccer) leagues for men in Denmark measured by number of SARS‐CoV‐2 positive players. The players were tested weekly for SARS‐CoV‐2 for 11 consecutive weeks. The test protocol comprised 26 teams with 748 players. In total, 6511 tests were done with a positivity rate of 0.06%. The incidence rate of players testing positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 was 0.53% (4/748). There were no signs of a chain of infection. We found a low incidence rate of SARS‐CoV‐2, and based on this, a controlled reopening of professional football strictly following a detailed protocol appears safe for the players.