D.C. United have announced that the club will begin voluntary individual outdoor workouts for players at Segra Field in Leesburg, Va, home of D.C. United’s United Soccer League (USL) affiliate Loudoun United FC, on Friday, May 29.
On Tuesday, May 26, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that the state will move into phase one of easing pandemic-related shutdowns on Friday, May 29. Major League Soccer (MLS) had previously announced that players could begin to use outdoor team training fields for individual workouts beginning May 6.
- D.C. United will implement detailed health and safety protocols based on consultations with local and national health professionals and adhere to the following guidelines previously announced by MLS for the workouts at Segra Field:
- Restricting training facility access to essential staff only, with specific staff listed in the plan.
- Sanitization and disinfection plans for all training equipment and spaces, including disinfection of any equipment used by players (balls, cones, goals) between every session.
- Completion of a Standard Screening Assessment survey by each player prior to every arrival at the training site, and temperature checks upon arrival at the facility.
- Staggered player and staff arrivals and departures, with designated parking spaces to maintain maximum distance between vehicles.
- Player use of personal protective equipment from the parking lot to the field, and again on return to the parking lot.
- Staff use of the appropriate personal protective equipment throughout training, while also maintaining a minimum distance of 10 feet from players at all times.
- Hand washing and disinfectant stations for required use before and after individual workouts.
- Segra Field will be divided into a maximum of four quadrants with only one player per quadrant allowed access at a time. There will be no equipment sharing or playing (passing, shooting, etc.) between players.
- Individual training sessions will be limited to 60 minutes per player.
There will be no media access. D.C. United Communications will provide photos and video for media use following individual training sessions.
D.C. United are also continuing to work closely with the Mayor’s Office in Washington, D.C. on when the club may begin to use Audi Field along with RFK’s Training Fields for individual training opportunities.
