PETALING JAYA: Efforts to allow outdoor sports like football and futsal to resume have been well received by health experts and operators of such activity.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the National Security Council (MKN) is discussing with the youth and sports ministry, which is preparing documents to support the case for the two major sports activities among youths to resume.
Nathan Mahalingam, managing director of Cyberlynx International College, co-owners and operators of five football and futsal facilities, said they were “very supportive of the move”, adding that it came as good news during a “very bad year for facility operators”.
He said most venues have developed and implemented robust SOPs to monitor users and visitors.
Sports centres were allowed to reopen during the recovery movement control order (RMCO) with strict SOPs, but were forced to shut down again or limit operations during the conditional movement control order (CMCO). In mid-October, MKN allowed for non-contact training activities to be held.
Eben, general manager of Republic of Futsal in Petaling Jaya, called it a “very positive outcome”, as it has been a while since they were able to operate as usual.
During the CMCO, they only allowed a modified version of futsal to be played, one which involves little to no contact between players.
Both operators said that if they get the green light to reopen properly, it will be up to the players to demonstrate discipline, particularly when bringing spectators.
“We suggest that when facilities are re-opened fully, entry is permitted only to the players and not to their friends and families who usually accompany them,” Nathan said.
Eben shared the same view, saying it was important to limit the number of people in the venue.
“We need the public’s cooperation. We don’t want spectators to make the place too crowded. The focus should be on the players.”
Public health and health policies specialist Dr Swee Kheng Khor said as many outdoor sports as possible should be permitted, as they will help improve the physical and mental health of a population that has largely been indoors this year.
“Also, outdoor sports activities have a roughly similar risk profile, if not lower, than the existing activities that are already allowed, such as public transport.
“The risk of outdoor sports activities can be lowered with more responsible behaviour such as no spitting, bringing your own equipment, hand hygiene at regular intervals, and no intentional physical touching, such as handshakes or high fives,” he said.