LONDON: Eight Tottenham players and five members of staff at the club have tested positive for the coronavirus, manager Antonio Conte said Wednesday.
“Every day we are having people with COVID,” Conte said at a news conference a day before a match against French team Rennes in the Europa Conference League.
Conte said he has 11 players available for the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
UEFA rules state a game must go ahead as long as a club has at least 13 senior players available, including at least one goalkeeper.
Conte said “everyone is a bit scared” at the club because people are coming into contact with others who have tested negative but who later test positive.
“At the end of the training session today, again one player is positive, another member of staff is positive,” he said. “Tomorrow, who? Me? Another player? Another member of staff? We continue in this way but the situation is serious.”
Conte said he is concerned players and staff members at Tottenham might be passing on the virus to their loved ones.
“We have families, we have contact with our families when we come back home,” a visibly emotional Conte said. “It is a situation that makes me upset.
“Now for sure we are bit scared, because tomorrow we don’t know what happens.”
It has been reported in the British media that Tottenham has asked for its Premier League game against Brighton on Sunday to be postponed. Conte did not confirm that at the news conference.
Six Premier League matches were postponed last season because of virus outbreaks at clubs.
Tottenham is in second place in its group in the Conference League — the third-tier European competition — and is tied on points with third-place Vitesse. Rennes has already won the group with one game left to play.
The runner-up qualifies for a playoff for the last 16 against a team that will drop down from the Europa League.
Conte says 8 Spurs players, 5 staff members have coronavirus
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Conte says 8 Spurs players, 5 staff members have coronavirus
- “Every day we are having people with COVID,” Conte said at a news conference
- UEFA rules state a game must go ahead as long as a club has at least 13 senior players available
FIFA and Board of Peace to support Gaza reconstruction through football
- The Board of Peace, established under the US President Donald Trump, held its first meeting focused on Gaza’s reconstruction fund, aimed at rebuilding the territory once Hamas disarms
FIFA and the Board of Peace signed a partnership agreement on Thursday to attract investment from global leaders and institutions for sustainable development in conflict-affected regions through football.
The Board of Peace, established under the US President Donald Trump, held its first meeting focused on Gaza’s reconstruction fund, aimed at rebuilding the territory once Hamas disarms.
The disarmament of Hamas militants and accompanying withdrawal of Israeli troops, the size of the reconstruction fund and the flow of humanitarian aid to the war-torn population are expected to pose significant challenges to the board’s effectiveness in the coming months.
The FIFA collaboration plan includes building 50 mini-pitches near schools and residential areas in Gaza, five full-size pitches across multiple districts, a state-of-the-art FIFA academy and a new 20,000-seat national stadium, FIFA said.
Trump said FIFA will raise $75 million for football-related projects in Gaza.
“Today, FIFA and the Board of Peace have signed a landmark partnership agreement that will foster investment into football for the purpose of helping the recovery process in post conflict areas,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
“Together with the support of the Board of Peace, FIFA will drive this partnership which is built to deliver impact at every stage.”
The program will also emphasize job creation, youth participation, organized leagues for boys and girls, community engagement and the stimulation of local commercial activities, FIFA said.
