Sweden cancels January training camp, friendly over COVID concerns

The Swedish men's team usually gathers a squad of Scandinavian-based players for a warm-weather camp in January, but a decision was taken to cancel the plans on Thursday.

Representative Image: Sweden has announced that it is cancelling the planned camps for its international teams in January.

The Swedish Football Association (SvFF) has announced that it is cancelling the planned camps for its international teams in January and a proposed friendly with Finland due to concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The Swedish men's team usually gathers a squad of Scandinavian-based players for a warm-weather camp in January, but a decision was taken to cancel the plans to visit the Algarve coast in Portugal, including a clash with neighbour Finland.

"Obviously it's sad that we have to call off the January trip but after getting the advice from our medical team, the SvFF's medical committee and the Finnish FA we have decided to cancel this year's camp," team manager Stefan Pettersson said in a statement.

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"Under the current circumstances, the medical team advises against taking part in national team gatherings outside Sweden because of the increasing spread of infection and the increased burden on the healthcare system both in Sweden and in Europe.

The infection situation is judged to be particularly unstable and hard to predict," Pettersson added.

Sweden hosts the Czech Republic in Stockholm in a playoff for the Qatar World Cup in March, with the winner set to meet Poland or Russia for a place in the finals.