Norway unveils new measures in football to block virus

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Norway adopted new measures in football on Wednesday to stem the spread of the new coronavirus during activities.

"Activities where players fight for the ball or otherwise are in close physical contact with one another are not allowed. The ball should be cleaned between each session. Cone and other equipment should be cleaned before and after each workout," the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) said in a statement.

"Always a meter or more distance, both within the group and to any other groups," the NFF.

It said that a group should have maximum 20 players so a manager could oversee whether they respect the coronavirus protocols or not.

The NFF added that players are not allowed to use shared wardrobes in their dressing rooms and must wash their hands before and after football activities and use antibacterial sanitizers.

Norway's top-tier football division Eliteserien was originally scheduled to start in April but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 season was moved to June 16.

Norwegian authorities have so far reported 229 fatalities from COVID-19 and 8,168 positive cases, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University data.

This year's figures showed that a number of 5.4 million people live in Norway.