For the first time in seven months, the U.S. Women’s National Team will come together as a group.
U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday that the USWNT will take part in a training camp in Commerce City, Colorado. It will be the latest opportunity for players to impress USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski ahead of possible November action. A roster of players is expected to be announced this week.
“Getting the National Team back together brings us relief and excitement, and I’m thankful for all the work done behind the scenes to make this happen, and make it happen safely for all the players and staff,” said Andonovski. “We’re going to be smart and efficient in how we conduct this camp, but we know that the Olympics will be coming fast once the calendar turns to 2021, so we have to make as much progress as we can during the time we have in Denver.”
The camp will take place from Oct. 18-28, commencing after the completion of the NWSL Fall Series. It will mark the first time the USWNT has come together since winning the 2020 SheBelieves Cup on March 11th. Since Andonovski’s hiring last fall, the USWNT is riding a 10-match winning streak, however there will be no international games associated with this camp.
The U.S. team and staff will operate inside a controlled environment at a Denver-area hotel. Everyone entering the controlled environment will undergo multiple COVID-19 tests before traveling, and then will be tested upon arrival, and then every two days during camp. There will be no full team training until the results of all arrival tests are confirmed.
“Our top priority at all times is the health and safety of our players and staff,” said U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer Dr. George Chiampas. “We’ve worked hard to make sure our players and staff are aware of all our strategies and protocols so they will feel safe in the environment.”
“We all have our responsibilities individually to execute the proper maintenance of the environment, but collectively as a team, we all need to work together to make sure we can have the safest and most productive camp in October, as well as for events moving forward.”
A full list of protocol for the camp can be found here.