As an additional measure to help minimise the potential risk of the coronavirus spreading, the club has made the decision to suspend all of our boys’ academy and girls’ regional talent centre operations with immediate effect and until further notice.
This means that our training ground will be closed to all boys and girls’ players in the under-9 to under-16 age groups, with all training sessions and games cancelled.
The club’s academy and regional talent centre operate from our training ground alongside our men’s first-team operations, and generate large volumes of human traffic through our facility.
Given the uncertainty of the current coronavirus situation, we feel we must prioritise our men’s first team (as well as our women’s first-team based at the Amex) to give us the best chance fulfilling our Premier League and WSL fixtures, in addition to the duty of care we have for our staff and players, and our academy and regional talent centre members and their families.
This is not a decision we have taken lightly and is purely precautionary — we do not believe there is any enhanced risk at the training ground over and above any other public space — but these pre-emptive measures are taken in the best interests of all.
These plans will be implemented from 5pm today, 11th March 2020, and continue until further notice.
We appreciate that this will be frustrating and disappointing for our younger players and their families, and we apologise for any inconvenience. The patience, cooperation and support of our academy and regional talent centre players and their families with this matter is greatly appreciated.