UPDATE, May 14 (9:45 pm ET): Major League Soccer announced on Thursday that it was extending its small group and team training moratorium through June 1. Players will continue to be able to use outdoor team training fields for voluntary individual workouts.
A team training moratorium has been in place since MLS suspended play on March 12 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Players were allowed to begin voluntary individual workouts last week, in accordance with detailed health and safety protocols and in line with local public health or government policies.
Read the full statement below:
Major League Soccer has extended the small group and team training moratorium through, and including, Monday, June 1.
MLS players may continue to use outdoor team training fields for voluntary individual workouts, in compliance with local health authorities and government orders, that were created in consultation with medical and infectious disease experts.
MLS training facilities remain closed to all players with the exception of those requiring medical treatment or rehabilitation, under the direction of the team medical staff, that cannot be performed from the safety of their residences.
While MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market, MLS will continue to review individual requests by players to relocate to another market by car, taking into account the totality of a player’s situation.
MLS and its Clubs will continue to remain in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and local health authorities on this continually evolving situation and provide further updates as they become available.
UPDATE, April 23 (7:30 pm ET): Major League Soccer on Thursday announced an extension to its team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, May 15.
Players will be expected to remain in their club's market but the league said it would continue to consider individual requests from players to relocate. MLS play has been suspended since March 12 due to the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the league announced that the postponement was being extended until at least June 8.
Read Thursday's full statement below:
Major League Soccer has extended the team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, May 15. MLS training facilities remain closed to all players and staff with the exception of players requiring medical treatment or rehabilitation, under the direction of the team medical staff, that cannot be performed from the safety of their residence.
While MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market, MLS will continue to review individual requests by players to relocate to another market by car, taking into account the totality of a player’s situation.
MLS will remain in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on this continually evolving situation and provide further updates as they become available.]
UPDATE, April 2 (8:00 pm ET): Major League Soccer announced Thursday that it had extended the team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, April 24.
Similar to previous extensions, MLS training facilities will remain closed to all players and staff with the exception of players requiring treatment or rehabilitation. Players are also still expected to remain in each club's respective market, though MLS will continue to review individual requests by players to relocate to another market by car.
The training moratorium has been in effect since MLS announced the suspension of play on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. On March 19, the league announced that it was extending that suspension in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), setting a target return date of May 10.
Read Thursday's full statement below:
Major League Soccer has extended the team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, April 24. MLS training facilities remain closed to all players and staff with the exception of players requiring medical treatment or rehabilitation, under the direction of the team medical staff, that cannot be performed from the safety of their residence.
While MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market, MLS will continue to review individual requests by players to relocate to another market by car, taking into account the totality of a player’s situation.
MLS will remain in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on this continually evolving situation and provide further updates as they become available.
UPDATE, March 25 (10:30 am ET): Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday that it had extended the team training moratorium through Friday, April 3. While the league said it continued to expect players to remain in their local markets, they will review individual requests by players to relocate by car in certain circumstances.
The training moratorium has been in effect since MLS announced the suspension of play on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, the league announced that it was extending that suspension in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), setting a target return date of May 10.
Read the full statement below:
Major League Soccer has extended the team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, April 3. MLS training facilities remain closed to all players and staff with the exception of players requiring medical treatment or rehabilitation, under the direction of the team medical staff, that cannot be performed from the safety of their residence.
While MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market, MLS will review individual requests by players to relocate to another market by car, taking into account the totality of a player’s situation.
MLS will remain in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on this continually evolving situation and provide further updates as they become available.
UPDATE, March 20 (3:30 pm ET): Major League Soccer on Friday extended its training moratorium for all clubs through, and including, March 27. Players are expected to remain in their local markets and exercise safe social distancing measures.
Read the statement below:
Major League Soccer has extended the team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, March 27. During this time, MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market and have been advised to exercise safe social distancing measures.
At this time, team training facilities may only be accessed for physical therapy purposes at the direction of club medical staff to ensure adherence to safety protocols.
MLS remains in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on this continually evolving situation and will provide further updates as they become available.
The statement follows an announcement by MLS on Thursday that suspension of the league would be extended in accordance with recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The target return date is May 10.
UPDATE, March 15 (4:45 pm ET): Major League Soccer has extended the team training moratorium through, and including, Friday, March 20. During this time, MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market, and have been advised to exercise safe social distancing measures.
MLS is working with public health authorities, in collaboration with the MLS clubs, the MLS Players Association, and in consultation with the other North American professional sports leagues to finalize a protocol that would permit players to access training facilities for rehab or individual training under safe conditions during the team training moratorium.
MLS remains in close contact with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on this continually evolving situation and will provide further updates as they become available.
MLS instituted a team training moratorium for all of its clubs beginning on Friday, March 13 and running through Sunday, March 15 as the league continues to review training protocols to ensure a safe environment for players and staff in the wake of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
The training moratorium applies to first-team trainings, reserve teams and academies.
The communication of the moratorium to clubs came on the same day that MLS suspended the 2020 season for a period of 30 days.
During the training moratorium, MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market and they are permitted to work out independently should they voluntarily choose to do so.
In addition to the MLS regular season, several soccer competitions and tournaments have been postponed, including Concacaf (Olympic qualifying and Champions League) and U.S. national team events, USL Championship, Generation adidas Cup for academies and eMLS Cup.
