Resuming professional football during the Covid-19 pandemic in a country with high infection ratesA prospective cohort study

Schumacher, Y. O.; Tabben, M.; Hassoun, K.; Al Marwani, A.; Al Hussein, I.; Coyle, P.; Abassi, A. K.; Ballan, H. T.; Al Kuwari, A. J.; Chamari, K.; Bahr, R.

Objectives: The risk of viral transmission associated with contact sports such as Football during the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown. The aim of this study was to describe the development of infective and immune status of professional football players, team staff and league officials over a truncated football season resumed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in a country with high infection rates and to investigate the clinical symptoms related to Covid-19 infection in professional football players. Methods: Prospective cohort study of 1337 football players, staff and officials during a truncated football season (9 weeks) with a tailored infection control program based on preventive measures and regular SarS-CoV-2 PCR swab testing (every 3-5 days) combined with serology testing for immunity (every 4 weeks). Clinical symptoms in positive participants were recorded using a 26-item, Likert-scale-based scoring system. Results: During the study period, 85 subjects returned positive (cycle threshold (cT)<30) or reactive (30