Sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora has confirmed that players in Italian competitions will only be required to take swabs 48 hours before matches.
Players on the peninsula had been obliged to take coronavirus swabs every four days, which FIGC President Gabriele Gravina heavily opposed, but Spadafora confirmed this evening that was no longer the case.
Sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora has confirmed that players in Italian competitions will only be required to take swabs 48 hours before matches.
Players on the peninsula had been obliged to take coronavirus swabs every four days, which FIGC President Gabriele Gravina heavily opposed, but Spadafora confirmed this evening that was no longer the case.
“I’ve just informed President Gravina that the CTS, which I thank, has positively evaluated our proposal for a reduction in swabs, going beyond the requests of the FIGC,” he told reporters.
“From today, in fact, as already foreseen in competitions abroad, players will only have to take swabs 48 hours before games.”
The news was understandably received well by Gravina, who hailed the ‘synergy’ between the worlds of football, science and politics.
“It is another important objective achieved; I thank Spadafora and his department, with whom we shared a proposal that, for a long time, the world of professional football had been waiting for.
“Only one more piece is missing to complete the restart [the return of fans]. Working in synergy with institutions, I’m convinced it will come soon.”