SINGAPORE - Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs will be able to resume training at designated stadiums from Saturday (June 20) but under considerable restrictions, after the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced its guidelines and measures for the safe return to footballing activities.

Sports and recreation facilities reopened in Phase 2 on Friday, as Singapore continued easing out of the circuit breaker measures designed to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Among the measures the FAS introduced is having only four training areas on the pitch, in which each area can have a maximum of five players and one coach. To avoid mingling, changing of group members is not allowed until further notice by the authorities.

Circuit training is allowed, but equipment must be sanitised before the next group uses it in rotation.

Players and coaches are discouraged from heading drills, throw-ins and physical contact during training, while the use of changing rooms and gyms is not allowed before or after sessions.

To get priority usage of designated stadiums, SPL clubs must appoint a safe management officer and submit their training plans and group rosters to the FAS, which will then liaise with Sport Singapore for the bookings.

The overarching national sports facilities guidelines will apply. These include the restriction of operating capacity to 10 sq m per person, or a maximum of 50 people for stadiums, maintaining a social distance of at least two metres between individuals and three metres between groups, temperature screenings, and the implementation of SafeEntry.

In a Zoom session with general managers from SPL clubs on Friday, FAS general secretary Yazeen Buhari acknowledged that the restrictions are not ideal for professional 11-a-side teams, but said they are necessary in the nation's fight against the coronavirus pandemic if the SPL is to resume this year.

Testing for the coronavirus for SPL players will also not be implemented for now, but will be considered at a later stage, when there is a clearer picture of when the league could resume.

The FAS also said the measures will be reviewed from time to time, and the respective authorities will assess the implementation and adherence of the measures in place as well as the broader Covid-19 situation at the time before any changes are made.

It added that the advisory is to be adhered without compromise by all participants, venue operators, clubs and academies who conduct footballing activities to ensure the safety of all participants and minimise the risk of communal infections.