Players’ union step forward to pay £5m bill for mandatory Covid-19 testing at EFL clubs

The league governing body and the Professional Footballers’ Association have confirmed they will introduce bi-weekly testing from Monday, with the PFA to fund the programme.

The EFL has been subject to a raft of recent postponements related to coronavirus, leading to calls for it to introduce a regular testing regime or risk the league being suspended.

Rotherham United and Hull City saw two festive fixtures cancelled due to positive Covid tests, while Doncaster Rovers’ last four scheduled League One matches have been postponed due to players testing positive.

Rovers, whose last game was on December 22, are due to return to action in the FA Cup at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Sheffield Wednesday’s scheduled Cup tie at Exeter has been thrown into doubt after the Owls closed their training base earlier this week because of a Covid-19 outbreak.

The spiralling rates of infection have affected many cash-hit clubs, with the players union having now bowed to pressure to pay for tests due to worries over player welfare.

A joint EFL and PFA statement said: “Medical advice continues to support that following these protocols is the most successful route to mitigating against the spread of infection, but given the emergence of a new strain of the Covid virus, it is acknowledged that additional testing where it is not currently happening may help with the early identification and isolation of asymptomatic individuals.

“The tests have initially been procured from the private sector and will be fully funded by the PFA following discussions that have taken place with the EFL .”

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post in October, Rotherham chairman Tony Stewart stated that his club had spent £50,000 a month on Covid testing after the first lockdown.

It represented an additional ‘Covid bill’ for clubs like the Millers, with Stewart previously revealing that the club expect to lose up to £3m if fans are not allowed back into stadiums this season, as seems likely.

The mandatory move to test twice a week will provide greater certainty at a time when a number of clubs have called for a “circuit breaker” with a new, highly transmissible strain of coronavirus in circulation.

EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “We have repeatedly maintained that adhering to the stringent protocols implemented during the restart last summer and then across all clubs since the beginning of the season was going to be our best chance of beating the virus and to keep playing matches.

“Only last week, we took the decision to enhance these to further minimise risk, though with the new strain of the virus taking hold across parts of the country, it is now clear from our discussions with our medical advisors and public health officials that additional testing, operated in conjunction with strict protocols, may prove beneficial in the immediate short-term.”

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