COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The Colorado Rapids did not play against Los Angeles FC as scheduled tonight. They have not played since Sept. 23. They have now postponed three games in a row due an outbreak of COVID-19 within the organization.
Colorado Rapids Season Starting to be Derailed by COVID Outbreak
It all started on Friday Sept. 25 when the club started getting positive COVID tests. The next day, they postponed their home match against Sporting KC. One player and three club staff members tested positive.
The following Monday, the club announced an additional one player and seven staff members tested positive. That Saturday’s match at Portland Timbers FC was postponed as well. Those two games were reschedule for the final two Wednesdays of the regular season.
Earlier today, MLS postponed tonight’s game against LAFC due to another staffer testing positive. Thirteen club personnel have now tested positive for the virus over 12 days and multiple instances of spread within the club.
There are no open matchdays the rest of the season. Starting today, Colorado would have two games a week for five weeks in a row. That’s 10 games in 32 days.
Last Word on Soccer has heard from multiple sources that MLS would reschedule that game for after Decision Day (Nov. 8). The Rapids had lost over a week of in-person team training. The fixture congestion will remain unprecedented, even in this irregular and compressed season.
Should either LAFC or Colorado make the playoffs, they’ll be playing on short rest relative to their opponent. This goes beyond one team having an unfortunate situation, though we haven’t gotten clarity whether protocols were violated here. Three other teams have had to reschedule games. Anymore, and multiple teams will have their regular seasons extended.
If Saturday’s game against the LA Galaxy isn’t played on time, it’s unclear how MLS and the club(s) resolve this issue and uphold some semblance of competitive integrity, unless all the teams involved miss the playoffs. This is no longer a Colorado-only problem, it’s a problem for the league.
Furthermore, it’s hard to see how the resilient Rapids triumph in their 10 games in 32 days with more missed training days. Two weeks ago, this was a setback. Now, this Colorado Rapids COVID outbreak could be on the brink of derailing their season. And if it gets to that point, it could unfairly effect other clubs, at no fault of their own.
