On Monday June 22nd, 2020, France entered phase-3 of the COVID-19 reopening plan, which means a return to an almost normal lifestyle with a mandatory return to school, to complete the 2019-2020 school year and a return to sports and youth activities.
The Greater Geneva Area, where our center is located, is an ideal location during these times, with a low population density, as well as also being a highly sought-after tourist destination, due to its plentiful and diverse options for outdoor activities.
With this in mind, we are glad to announce the reopening of the International Center of European Football, a safe and fully operational campus, awaiting its Summer term athletes, and of course, its new student-athletes for the 10-month Pro Residency Program.
The whole ICEF team will continue to ensure the safety and health of every student-athlete as part of their development and success.
Your success and safety are our missions.
Based on the official protocols established and sanctioned by the French Government, the whole team at the International Center of European Football is following and has implemented very strict and extensive safety measures to ensure the security of all of our staff members and student-athletes, which are our utmost concern and highest priority.
In addition to safety, our administration is understanding and flexible during the registration period, as we know that this time is filled with uncertainties for the 2020-2021 season.
1- Wearing Face Masks
The wearing of face masks is strictly enforced for all members at ICEF, including the Technical Team, Staff, Administration, and Student-Athletes. Student-athletes do not have to wear face masks when they are in their rooms or in the campus’ outdoors as long as social distancing guidelines are met.
The center provides facemasks to all visitors who do not carry them upon arrival at the campus.
2- Daily Temperature Screening
Boarding student-athletes are monitored every morning before breakfast and every night after dinner. Staff members, camp participants and visitors are monitored upon arrival at the center. If a boarding student is showing a temperature higher than 100.8F, he will be isolated, and his family will be immediately contacted. If the temperature remains higher than 100.8F, we will contact our Primary or Emergency care provider for a diagnostic and potentially a test for COVID-19.
The International Center of European Football partners and relies on the professionalism of our visiting primary care provider and the Evian-les-Bains hospital located a few miles away from the center, available 24/7.
If a non-boarding camper, or a staff member is showing temperatures higher than 100.8F, they will not be able to access any of our facilities nor will they be allowed to meet with any of our students. Staff members will be placed on medical leave and will be able to return to work at the center after testing negative to Covid-19.
3- Quarantine and Isolation
Boarding student-athletes for whom there are suspicions of contamination (fever, cough, or any symptoms of COVID-19) or who recently traveled from high-risk countries or regions of the world may be placed in quarantine inside the center. They will benefit from a larger living space, online education and private training and meal service for 14 days.
4- Social Distancing
Our residents are fortunate to benefit from a fully enclosed and private 6-acre domain with fully controlled guest / visitor access. We are also implementing additional measures to maximize the social distancing between residents.
Limited access and visits: Visitors are not permitted inside campus buildings or in the bedrooms. Families must schedule their visits with our administration.
Smaller training groups: When necessary, the technical staff will split the training groups to maximize social distancing during intensive football/soccer activities.
Safety perimeter groups: Our staff has re-organized all public areas to allow more distance between student-athletes during meals and in classrooms, the school bus, and lounge areas.
5- Thorough Cleaning and Disinfection
All common areas such as bathrooms, classrooms, the restaurant, bedrooms, and surfaces are professionally and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected multiple times per day. We directly employ our cleaning and janitorial staff who are working extensive hours onsite with a specific cleaning protocol throughout the day.
Locker rooms are cleaned and disinfected after each training session along with football/soccer gear. Player’s uniforms are washed using an industrial grade disinfectant washing program.
Staff members and student-athletes are requested to wash hands before and after every meal or before entering any building. Multiple hydroalcoholic gel dispenser are installed at every entry point of each building.
6- Safety Guidelines and Protocols Ongoing Education
ICEF provides an ongoing education for its student-athletes and its staff to ensure that guidelines and protocols concerning safety, health, and hygiene related to Covid-19 are always relevant and do not put anyone at risk.
7- Extra Flexibility
We, at the International Center of European Football, understand the concerns around the potential impacts of Covid-19 to our 2020-2021 season. We understand that the context leads to difficulties to plan ahead and confidently let children follow their paths abroad.
To address a scenario where there would be specific and/or negative restrictions due to Covid-19 during the 2020-2021 season, we have modified our agreements to add specific Covid-19 provisions:
- If any program is cancelled due to a Covid-19 situation or if the French government does not release the permit to operate the program, we shall refund all fees and tuition paid to each family;
- If any program start date is delayed, we shall refund a prorated amount of the full-year tuition to each family;
- If at any point in time we need to interrupt the program and repatriate the student-athletes, a prorated amount of the tuition will be refunded to each family.