FIFA urges players to get vaccinated, EPL lags on take-up

FIFA offered direct encouragement for footballers to get vaccinated on Sunday.

The first clear statement of its kind from world football's governing body came as players were flying to countries for men's World Cup qualifiers.

“We encourage COVID-19 vaccinations,” FIFA said, "and endorse the World Health Organization’s position: safe, fair, and equitable access is critical in all countries. Players should not receive priority access to vaccines.”

The British government last week agreed to ease strict quarantine requirements to allow fully vaccinated players to train and feature in matches on their return to England from red-list countries, which includes all of South America. Those players who don't want to be vaccinated would still be sent to spend 10 days in government hotel quarantine when flying back to England.

“We acknowledge this decision does not help every player," FIFA said, “and we remain committed to further improving the situation for upcoming windows and joining discussions to explain more about the many measures we are putting in place to reduce the risks of COVID transmission into the community as a result of player travel.”

Many Premier League clubs blocked players from going to red-list countries during the international window last month. Players who did go missed games for their clubs as a result.

“We believe this is a much more desirable solution to the situation that players faced in September,” FIFA said.

The British government spoke out against players not getting vaccinated on Sunday. Only seven of the 20 Premier League clubs have more than half of their squads fully vaccinated, according to the most recent data.

“I would just appeal to these people, whether they are footballers, whoever it is ... that the vaccines are working," Health...