Bio-Secure Bubbles Approved Safe for Football Matches

According to a recent study, games held in football stadiums that strictly followed the bio-secure bubble procedure were safe and did not aid in the transmission of COVID-19.

Qatar has been able to effectively host sporting events in 2020 and 2021 and the gradual return of fans to the stadium, marking an important milestone for the nation as they get ready to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

According to the study "Resumption of professional football league with spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic: The implementation of Bio-secure bubble protocol," Qatar has become one of the first nations to put in place a comprehensive Bio-secure bubble system during the ongoing pandemic and has been able to hold matches with spectators that have not contributed to the virus' spread because the protocol has been put in place.

Football players, match officials, members of the local organizing committee, hotel employees, security personnel, and more than 10,000 spectators from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (East) and the championship game participated in our descriptive cohort study. According to the study, which was recently published in the Qatar Medical Journal, "the study covered roughly four weeks of the event (November 19 to December 19, 2020) under a strong bio-secure bubble procedure.

Rapid antigen testing for fan attendance and monitoring of participants' positive RT-PCR findings and clinical COVID-19 symptoms have been done as part of the study to investigate the safety of fans returning to the stadiums.

The nation's current immunization campaigns are intended to help Qatar host a successful FIFA World Cup in 2022, as it plans, prepares, and successfully executes events to guarantee everyone's safety.

Qatar successfully hosted the AFC Champions League West and East Zone games from November 2020 to April 2021, including the championship game and Amir Cup Final in December 2020. The FIFA Club World Cup, which took place in February 2021 and allowed stadiums to hold 30 percent more spectators, served as its capstone event.

The study showed that for all the AFC (East) games, including the championship game, a total of 12,250 RT-PCR tests involving 3,158 individuals in the bio-secure bubble were conducted over the course of one month. There were 16 teams involved in 44 total games.

Only five people (three LOC members and two match officials) tested positive for COVID-19 infections throughout the competition. Reactive responses were seen in four people, one of whom was not inside the biosecure bubble. There was little need for hospitalization because the symptoms were minimal or absent.

The survey also highlighted a 0.15 percent positive rate for the AFC (east Champions League). 10, 320 quick antigen tests were performed before the match, and only one was COVID-10 positive.

In order to ensure that the citizens and the spectators may enjoy the World Cup without worrying about ongoing health difficulties, the administration has implemented these measures within 100 days till it begins. The fact that the nation can hold sporting events without any infections further proves that the health department has been making sure they are completely prepared to handle the matter in any eventuality.