AFFA Executive Vice President Elkhan Mammadov, PFL President Ramin Musayev, Premier League club leaders, and AFFA Chief Physician Vyacheslav Khomenko attended the meeting.
Opening the meeting with his speech, Elkhan Mammadov thanked the President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev on behalf of the football community for the purposeful measures taken by the state to prevent coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in our country and the health of citizens during the pandemic.
The following issues were included in the agenda of the meeting:
1. Restoration of Premier League club trainings from June 1, 2020, as well as Premier League and Azerbaijan Cup matches on June 21, 2020
2. Involvement of football players and coaches of Premier League clubs in the weekly COVID-19 test
3. Discussion of the game schedule related to the resumption of Premier League and Cup matches
4. The next steps to be taken after the resumption of games if any player or coach has a positive COVID-19 test
5. Discussion of adding relevant clauses to existing contracts signed between clubs and players in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic
6. Other issues
Speaking about the issues on the agenda, Executive Vice President Elkhan Mammadov said that the topics discussed were sent to clubs in advance. Then PFL President Ramin Musayev expressed his views. After Premier League club officials spoke about all the issues on the agenda, AFFA Chief Physician Vyacheslav Khomenko spoke about the importance of following the sanitary-hygienic rules and the COVID-19 test in the current situation.
After detailed discussions, an agreement was reached on the following:
1. Trainings of Premier League clubs will be resumed from June 1, 2020, Premier League and Azerbaijan Cup matches will be resumed on June 21, 2020;
2. Before the resumption of Premier League matches, the players and coaches of the clubs must be involved in the COVID-19 test. Each club can decide individually whether to repeat the test in subsequent periods;
3. The schedule of Premier League and Cup matches will be prepared by the PFL and sent to clubs in the coming days;
4. If any player or coach's COVID-19 test is positive after the resumption of the Games, AFFA will act following the relevant instructions after negotiations with the relevant government agencies;
5. The PFL and clubs will discuss the addition of relevant clauses to existing contracts signed between clubs and players in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Besides, the technical processes during the organization of trainings and games were discussed in detail in the meeting, emphasizing the importance of compliance with the decisions and recommendations of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers.
A number of issues discussed at the meeting of the Clubs Committee will be included in the agenda of the next meeting of the Executive Committee to make final decisions.
