National sports bodies unsure of resumption of sports amid Covid-19 severity

All types of sports and training programmes have been on hold since March due to the outbreak of Covid-19. But since the other activities have restarted on a limited scale,  the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has suggested that it's about time to resume the sporting action.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports sought the opinion of DGHS regarding the resumption of sports in Bangladesh and everything related to this. DGHS responded to the ministry, suggesting resumption of sporting activities on a limited scale. They suggested that the Covid-19 protocols need to be maintained accordingly and the health of everyone involved will be monitored.

That means, according to the proposal of DGHS to the Youth and Sports, all the sporting bodies of the country can let the sports begin but they have to follow the health guidelines and ensure social distancing.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has already made  four different grounds across the country available for cricketers so that they can resume the practice. BCB is yet to allow team practice but almost everyone in the pool have started practicing on their own at the grounds.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) were supposed to do so as well. Ahead of the 2022 World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers, they announced a 36-men preliminary squad and were scheduled to start  a conditioning camp in Gazipur. But as of Saturday, as many as 18 footballers as well as a coach have tested positive for Covid-19. The Business Standard contacted with BFF but none of the officials agreed to talk about this matter. With so many footballers' results coming out positive, it's uncertain if the camp will begin or not.

Ashikur Rahman Miku, the General Secretary of Bangladesh Volleyball Federation, told The Business Standard that they don't have any plan regarding the resumption of Volleyball soon even if DGHS decides to allow sporting action. "In sports like Tennis, Badminton and Archery, the individuals don't come in contact with each other. But Volleyball being a totally contact sport, we don't want to restart it keeping in mind the health risks. We will think about that only when the situation here improves," he mentioned.

The General Secretary of Bangladesh Handball Federation Asaduzzaman Kohinoor didn't agree to talk about the decision of DGHS,  saying that the federation haven't been informed about it yet.

As in a number of sports, players necessarily come into bodily contact with one another, it looks like the full-fledged sporting action will take some more time to resume.