Jeff Berding walking into a press conference to say we’ve reached unprecedented territory doesn’t sound as good the second time around.
The first occasion was when FC Cincinnati went from their initial launch to an MLS expansion bid in three years. The other occasion was Thursday afternoon, when he explained how the club will operate in during a global pandemic.
“When the governor of Ohio speaks to public health advice to limit your daily activities to essential items, I would offer education as an essential item. And if education is being put on hold, we can put soccer on hold,” FCC President Jeff Berding said during a press conference. “It’s the right thing to do.”
FCC, along with the other 25 MLS franchises, have begun a 25-day suspension in league play that started Thursday morning. The decision was unanimous across the league, and means at least three matches – all home games at Nippert Stadium – between March 14 and April 5 will be postponed.
“The values of our club have been very clear from day one: to be supportive of our families and to make a positive impact in the community,” Berding said. “We feel very strongly inside FC Cincinnati that that was absolutely the appropriate decision to make and to (support) the public health of our fans in our communities and to take leadership in reducing the transmission of this dangerous virus.”
While the suspension arrived two days away from FC Cincinnati’s previously scheduled home opener – Saturday night against D.C. United at Nippert Stadium – Berding said the club put together a small task force early last week to start planning for the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The shutdown only leads to more questions, which FCC’s President tried answering during his press conference at the club’s Downtown headquarters.
As for postponed matches, MLS is working to reschedule games at a later date.
“The goal is that we would have a full 17-match home schedule in our final season here at Nippert,” Berding said. “More communication will be coming out about the specifics of rescheduling, but I want to be clear to all of our fans and our partners that the goal is the league would reschedule all affected matches.”
As for day-to-day operation at the club, things started altering on Thursday.
MLS mandated a moratorium on practices through this weekend, with an option of reevaluating next week. Assuming practices continue at Mercy Health Training Center, only essential personnel would be around the players and team staff.
All FC Cincinnati Academy activities are suspended until April 3, including practices.
“We want to make sure that our young players are being protected in this time and limiting all non-essential activities,” Berding said.
Additionally, the club’s community outreach programs and player appearances are postponed or suspended, with the hopes they can be rescheduled.
FCC can continue their search for a third full-time MLS head coach, but the process will proceed remotely.
“To be fair, we probably have a little bit more time because we’re not playing a game this weekend or the following Saturday and the following Sunday,” Berding said. “We have the ability to use technology and to work in a manner that would allow us to make the best long-term decision for who will be the next head coach of FC Cincinnati.”
The organization will continue updating its fans and the general public as more information becomes readily available. At this point, the focus is off the field and rightfully on public health.
“We live in unprecedented times here,” Berding said. “There’s no way that anyone could plan for this. I’m proud of the fact that with our staff here at FC Cincinnati and our ownership group, our whole preparation for this was to be true to our values as a club and do what’s right for the community.”
