ABSTRACT
Little is known about the risk of COVID-19 infection among footballers. We aimed to investigate the incidence and characteristics of COVID-19 infection among footballers. In total, 480 football players of Super League Greece and 420 staff members participated in a prospective cohort study, which took place from May 2020 to May 2021. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from footballers and staff members weekly. All samples (n = 43,975) collected were tested using the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for the detection of "SARS-CoV-2". In total, 190 positive cases (130 among professional football players and 60 among staff) were recorded. Out of the 190 cases that turned positive, 64 (34%) cases were considered as symptomatic, and 126 (66%) cases were asymptomatic. The incidence rate of a positive test result for footballers was 0.57% (confidence interval (CI) 0.48-0.68%) and for staff members it was 0.27% (CI 0.20%, 0.34%), respectively. Footballers recorded a twofold increased risk of COVID-19 infection in comparison to staff members (relative risk = 2.16; 95% CI = 1.59-2.93; p-value < 0.001). No significant transmission events were observed during the follow-up period. We found a low incidence of COVID-19 infection among professional footballers over a long follow-up period. Furthermore, the implementation of a weekly diagnostic testing (RT-PCR) was critical to break the transmission chain of COVID-19, especially among asymptomatic football players and staff members.
ABSTRACT
This paper demonstrates the community support of Premier League football players during the first COVID-19 national lockdown in the United Kingdom (March to May 2020). Given the global popularity and influence of footballers' behaviour, it shows that they play an important role as citizens in supporting wider communities during circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic. A content analysis of 376 Premier League football players (80% of those registered) comprising 3877 posts on Instagram and Twitter is presented. The findings show 12 athlete citizenship roles during the pandemic which collectively illustrates players fostering support for fans and citizen's public health compliance, wellbeing and lives. Players also conveyed how they coped with the pandemic with their athlete mindset and were hopeful for a better future. The discussion and conclusion suggest that COVID-19 has presented an opportune time to renegotiate the complex social systems of which athletes are a part, identifying how they can engage in citizenship and future community support embracing the fullest range of their sporting profession.