The 2020 National Sports Safety and Security Conference, hosted by the University of Southern Missouri, began last week with a question and answer session held by Commissioner of Major League Soccer Don Garber and Former U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Thomas P. Bossert. The two answered questions and addressed concerns about restarting the 2020 Major League Soccer (MLS) season during COVID-19.

Garber assured attendees that the League was working closely with doctors and experts to address how to begin the season safely and put players’ health first.

 “All of the logistics that went into this, including security,” Garber stated, “was an enormous amount of work to ensure we could do it in a way that was effective.”

The MLS has been playing games in a bubble located in Orlando since the season started; 1,500 players have stayed in the bubble since that time, with only four positive cases of COVID-19 among them. Garber mentioned the importance of a “collective, unified effort” to get through the pandemic and keep the League open. He also stressed how the future of professional sports was reliant on staff and players’ willingness to strictly follow COVID-19 guidelines and keep public health a top priority.