Valencia CF’s discipline in daily fight against COVID-19

Since the end of January and the beginning of February, Valencia CF and the club’s medical services have been working tirelessly to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the club. The medical team, headed by Dr. Pedro López Mateu, have been clear that the health of those at the club comes before all else.

“Above sporting performance -which obviously interests us as a club- is taking care of the health of our athletes, staff members and everybody else who works at the club. We are very careful, and right now the focus for the club is the prevention of the spread of this COVID-19 pandemic that is affecting us all,” says Cristina López, a member of the Valencia CF medical staff.

Nobody is oblivious to the economic impact of the pandemic, and the European Club Association (ECA) has calculated the “seismic shock” resulting in a loss of 4,000 million euros, but Valencia CF were a pioneer in establishing a strict protocol that is followed daily both in the club's offices and the Ciudad Deportiva.

We took measures for isolation and to avoid greetings with contact, such as photos for fans with players and handshakes. To start with, these things could be a real shake-up. Later on, we took measures at the Ciudad Deportiva, including sectioning off areas to avoid contact between groups. Then there were protocols which did not only come from Valencia CF, but also from other clubs and LaLiga,” explains Dr. López Mateu.

Both the first team and all VCF Academy teams are following the strict protocols, aided by testing, isolation and protection.

“It's a setback that everybody at this level is facing. You follow the protocols and it does affect your work, but we use as few excuses as possible. It is what it is, and we have to follow the rules. Doing that isn't something we lose sleep over,” says Zigor Aranalde, analyst and assistant to Javi Gracia.

Valencia CF continue to fight against COVID-19, putting safety and awareness first and applying the same principles of solidarity that define the club.