Objective To investigate the risk of transmission among potentially infectious SARS-CoV-2-positive football players while participating in training or matches at amateur, youth and professional levels. Methods Between August 2020 and March 2021, football players who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and participated in matches or training during the period of potential contagiousness were identified through media search (professional level) and a nationwide registry in Germany (amateur and youth level) to determine symptoms, source of infection and hygiene measures adopted. The definition of potentially infectious players was based on the time of a positive PCR testing and symptom onset. Transmission-relevant contacts on the pitch were evaluated through doubly reviewed video analysis. Results Out of 1247 identified football matches and training sessions (1071 amateur and youth level, 176 professional level), 104 cases (38 training sessions, 66 matches) with 165 potentially infectious players were detected. Follow-up PCR testing at the professional level (44 cases) revealed no transmission. At the amateur and youth level, the combination of partial PCR testing (31 of 60 cases) and symptom monitoring within 14 days post-exposure (46 of 60 cases) identified 2 of 60 matches in which follow-up infections occurred that were attributed to non-football activities. This is consistent with the video analysis of 21 matches demonstrating frontal contacts were <1 per player-hour (88%, 30 of 34 players), each lasting no longer than 3 s. Conclusion On-field transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 in football is very low. Sources of infections in football players are most likely not related to activities on the pitch. No data are available.

中文翻译：

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业余、青年和职业足球（英式足球）场上球员接触传播 SARS-CoV-2 的风险

目的 调查在参加业余、青年和专业级别的训练或比赛时，潜在传染性 SARS-CoV-2 阳性足球运动员的传播风险。方法 在 2020 年 8 月至 2021 年 3 月期间，通过媒体搜索（专业级别）和德国的全国登记（业余和青年）确定了 SARS-CoV-2 检测呈阳性并在潜在传染期间参加比赛或训练的足球运动员级）以确定症状、感染源和采取的卫生措施。潜在传染性球员的定义是基于阳性 PCR 检测和症状发作的时间。通过双重审查的视频分析评估了球场上与传输相关的接触。结果在已确定的1247场足球比赛和训练中（1071场业余和青少年级别，176场专业级别），检测到104例（38场训练，66场比赛）和165名潜在感染球员。专业级别的后续 PCR 检测（44 例）显示没有传播。在业余和青年层面，部分 PCR 检测（60 例中的​​ 31 例）和暴露后 14 天内的症状监测（60 例中的​​ 46 例）相结合，确定了 60 场比赛中有 2 场发生了后续感染，这归因于非足球活动。这与 21 场比赛的视频分析一致，显示正面接触每球员小时 <1 次（88%，34 名球员中的 30 名），每次持续时间不超过 3 秒。结论 SARS-CoV-2 在足球场上传播的风险很低。足球运动员的感染源很可能与球场上的活动无关。没有可用数据。