+ What rules govern Return to Soccer in Alberta?

Rules relating to the phased-in approach of returning to soccer come from three sources: the Government of Alberta, Alberta Soccer and Canada Soccer.

The Alberta Government provide rules and guidance for the reopening of our Province, including sport. Alberta Soccer provides specific information regarding sanctioned soccer activity, and their protocols are approved by both the Provincial Government and Canada Soccer.

+ What are the relevant Provincial Government guidelines?

The official “rules” of Phase 2 are those provided by the Government of Alberta. These publich health directives apply to all Albertans effective June 12, 2020. These are a combination of various sources:

• The legislation, including the Chief Medical Officer of Health Orders, which have binding legal effect;

• The government's guiding documentation, including specifically the Guidance for Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation – Stage 2 document.

Additional direction is periodically provided by Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Alberta, via regular updates.

+ What rules apply to players, coaches and other team staff members?

During Phase 2, if you are in Alberta, you must comply with the Government of Alberta Rules (soccer or otherwise).

Players, coaches or other members of a team in a sanctioned youth soccer organization – e.g. EMSA – must comply with the governmental guidelines AND with all relevant Alberta Soccer protocols.

+ Can we play soccer now?

As of Phase 2 the answer is yes IF one of the following is in place:

• You play some variant of soccer that maintains physical distancing of 2 meters at all times (e.g. ball mastery or passing patterns);

OR

• You can train in a more typical fashion (i.e. soccer without on-field physical distancing) only if you do so as part of a “Sport Cohort”.

Importantly, this means you cannot play pick up / organized soccer with any person outside of your Cohort.

• Those persons would either have to become part of your Cohort, or you would have to join theirs.

+ Does Phase 2 have physical distancing requirements?

While Sport Cohorts are permitted to be within 2 meters during on-field training / modified games, it is recommended that players continue to respect physical distancing before and after their session, as well as during gaps in activity (e.g. water breaks).

Other important habits will continue to be stressed (e.g. hand hygiene).

If you are not part of a particular Sport Cohort (e.g. a coach who works with more than one team), you must maintain 2 meter distancing at all times.

+ What soccer activities are permitted in Phase 2?

Within the confines of Sport Cohort Guidelines:

• Training, scrimmages and / or modified games;
• Mini-leagues;
• Goalkeeper Training (with physical distancing to not compromise Sport Cohorts).

There are no age restrictions for Sport Cohorts.

What is not permitted includes the following:

• Participation in more than one Sport Cohort;
• Tournaments;
• Team travel outside the Sport Cohort;
• Friendly games or scrimmages outside the Sport Cohort;
• Use of referees not yet trained in COVID-19 protocols.

+ Are goalkeepers allowed in Phase 2?

They are permitted in Phase 2. There are guidelines that should be followed:

• They are NOT allowed to share goalkeeper gloves;
• They are NOT allowed to spit on their gloves;
• They should wash their gloves after every session.

+ What is a Sport Cohort?

“Sport Cohorts” are the most important thing for soccer participants to understand in Phase 2. Because Sport Cohort restrictions come from the Government of Alberta guidelines, this applies to everyone.

A Sport Cohort is defined as a closed, small group of no more than 50 individuals who participate in the same activity, and remain together for the duration of Stage 2.

A Sport Cohort is in addition to and separate from your “cohort family” (e.g. persons from your household/family which you regularly maintain less than 2m distance from).

The Rules are clear – you can only play soccer without physical distancing if you are playing as part of the same Sport Cohort (or family cohort).

+ Who is part of my Sport Cohort??

Who is in:

• Everyone involved in the training session / modified game, including players and coaches (who do not physically distance).

Who is not:

• Coaches and trainers who adhere to physical distancing requirements;

• Spectators (when permitted).

+ How many Sport Cohorts can I join?

ONE. Once you have joined a Sport Cohort for soccer, that’s your permanent group for all of Phase 2. You can ONLY play soccer (without physical distancing) with those specific people.

If you play with a group ONCE, you would theoretically become part of that Sport Cohort.

If you’re training with your club team but also playing with a separate group of friends recreationally, you need to pick only one Cohort to continue with.

+ What can Sport Cohorts not do?

Your Cohort cannot play against another Cohort.

• "Mini-leagues” are informal competitions comprised entirely of ONLY persons already in the Cohort. For example, you could split a 50 person Cohort into a mini-league of five “teams” of 9 players each, with one coach per "team".

• You could not have a league made up of 4 different Cohorts of 20 people each.

• You cannot have Cohort members from different geographic regions (e.g. 25 from Calgary and 25 from Edmonton).

+ How does a person switch Sport Cohorts?

If you want to switch your Sport Cohort, you’d have to isolate for 14 days from your last interaction with previous Cohort, before joining the new one.

+ When is Phase 2 finished?

Phase 2 will end if the government returns the province to Phase 1, or advances the province to Phase 3. There is no schedule or timeline as to when either of these situations may occur.

Please note the following:

• Organized competitive soccer leagues (e.g. EMSA) require the province be at Phase 3;

• If the province advances to Phase 3, sanctioned soccer activity would continue to follow Alberta Soccer Phase 2 Rules until Alberta Soccer Phase 3 Rules take effect;

• If the conditions outlined in the Alberta Soccer Rules for Phase 2 are not maintained, then ASA may downgrade soccer to the Phase 1 restrictions. This could happen even in if the province was still at the Phase 2 level.