Seattle Sounders FC has announced that FC Dallas’ game on March 21 has been postponed. Washington has been among the states worst-affected by the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, and restrictions have been placed that will affect all of Seattle’s professional sports teams.
Earlier today, Governor Jay Inslee instituted a ban on gatherings of more than 250 people in several counties in Washington. One of the affected counties is King County, of which Seattle is the county seat. The affected areas account for almost a quarter of confirmed cases in the United Stated.
Away from soccer, the Texas Rangers have also been affected by the restriction, with their road series against the Seattle Mariners likely to take place in Arizona. The city’s XFL franchise was more directly affected after a worker tested positive for Covid-19 having worked at CenturyLink Field. The Sounders opted to postpone their game with FC Dallas rather than seek an alternate location.
FC Dallas was due to miss Homegrown trio Paxton Pomykal, Reggie Cannon, and Jesus Ferreira. They will be in Mexico with the United States U-23s taking part in the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying tournament. The postponement does benefit FCD in not making one of its toughest road trips without three of its key players.
Closer to home, US Soccer released a reminder of the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines after three people in Collin County tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of tonight’s SheBelieves Cup games. FC Dallas had already installed sanitizer dispensers around Toyota Stadium and increased its cleaning schedule ahead of last weekend’s game with Montreal.
FC Dallas Statement on the Postponement
We respect the decision of Washington Governor Jay Inslee and the Seattle Sounders FC to postpone our road match that was scheduled on March 21, 2020 at CenturyLink Field.
FC Dallas
We know developments surrounding COVID-19 are evolving and understand the need to be flexible. As an organization, we are taking our own proactive measures with our fans, players and staff to ensure their health and safety. We are in ongoing communication with our team medical staff, public health officials and Major League Soccer to follow and execute the guidelines put in place.