The United States Soccer Federation has called off all men’s and women’s national team matches in March and April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federation announced Thursday.
The men were scheduled to play two European-based friendlies at the end of this month, against the Netherlands and Wales, while the women had planned to play US-based games against Australia and Brazil in April.
“With the health of our players, coaches, staff and fans as our main priority, U.S. Soccer has decided it was in the best interest to cancel the majority of our upcoming domestic and international camps at all levels, including our senior Men’s and Women’s National Team games in March and April, due to the outbreak of COVID-19,” U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer George Chiampas said in a federation statement.
“We have been in communication with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as state and local departments of public health, and after those conversations and continuously monitoring the situation, we strongly believe this is the best decision considering the ongoing worldwide health situation.”
The Concacaf Olympic Qualifying tournament in Mexico from March 20-April 1 has not yet been canceled, though U.S. Soccer are maintaining close communication with officials.
In addition to national team events, U.S. Soccer also announced on Thursday the suspension of U.S Soccer Development Academy boys’ and girls’ regular season through the end of April, and canceled the 2020 Allstate Development Academy Spring Cup to be held April 29-May 4 in Kansas City, Mo. and Greensboro, N.C.
Major League Soccer suspended its season for the next 30 days on Thursday.
The NBA suspended their season on Wednesday night following one of the league’s players testing positive for the virus. European soccer had already been greatly impacted, with many games being played behind closed doors before Serie A halted their season.
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