After the MLS-wide training moratorium was lifted June 4, clubs around the league are starting to return to full team training. The hold was first put in place March 12 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On June 8 Atlanta United and Sporting Kansas City became the first clubs to hold full team training sessions, with Chicago Fire FC, FC Cincinnati, the Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, FC Dallas, D.C. United, Houston Dynamo, the LA Galaxy, Inter Miami CF, Minnesota United, Montreal Impact, Nashville SC, the New England Revolution, New York City FC, the New York Red Bulls, Orlando City, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps also since receiving approval.
Before submitting their plans, teams must see them approved by the club's medical staff and a local infectious disease expert. A strict schedule of COVID-19 testing will also be required, and full team training is mandatory for players once approved.
Here’s a club-by-club look at who’s back.
Atlanta United
The defending U.S. Open Cup champions returned to full team training June 8 after seeing their plans approved. They had to be in compliance with local health and government policies and adhere to detailed health and safety protocols that were created in consultation with medical and infectious disease experts.
Chicago Fire FC
Chicago Fire FC were approved to begin full-team training at SeatGeek Stadium on June 15.
FC Cincinnati
The second-year club got back to full-team training on June 15 under the eye of interim head coach Yoann Damet. They were then expected to welcome new manager Jaap Stam to the fold on Tuesday, provided he comes back negative from COVID-19 testing after his arrival in the region last week.
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids began full team training on June 10.
Columbus Crew SC
The Crew confirmed on June 11 they had been approved to return to full team training.
FC Dallas
FC Dallas returned to full-team training in Frisco June 16, coach Luchi Gonzalez confirmed in call with reporters to announce the addition of Designated Player Franco Jara to the club.
D.C. United
D.C. United returned to full-team training at Audi Field June 15, the club announced Sunday. That comes on the heels of a player testing positive for COVID-19 as part of the mandatory testing administered to players earlier in the week as part of the protocol in advance of a return to full team training.
Houston Dynamo
The Dynamo returned to full-team training at Houston Sports Park, the club announced June 11.
“This is another major step for the team, particularly now that we know when we’ll return to play next month in Orlando. Our players and staff have been working very hard both on and off the field over the last three months to get to this point,” Dynamo senior vice president and general manager Matt Jordan said in a statement. “I want to highlight our club medical and athletic training staff for their hard work in preparing the health and safety protocols throughout this process. Our players’ and staff’s safety has been our primary concern from Day One and will continue to be as we move forward. It's been a lot of hard work collectively from all our departments to get to this point and we are eager to get started."
LA Galaxy
The Galaxy became the fifth team to announce they were returning to full-team training June 15, to be held at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Inter Miami CF
Inter Miami has been approved by MLS to resume full-team training at its Inter Miami CF Training Center, the club announced June 9. The sessions will be mandatory for all players and the facility and fields will be limited to players and essential staff, who will be required to undergo regular testing for COVID-19.
Minnesota United FC
Minnesota United resumed full team training on Wednesday, June 17.
“It was a very fun training session,” Loons forward Luis Amarilla said. “IWe were able to return to train as a full group after a long time. I felt really happy in that sense. It was great practice, really intense and I think we embraced it well.”
Montreal Impact
The Impact announced they've received approval from provincial public health to begin full team training at Centre Nutrilait June 18. The team had to comply to a strict screening process following the guidelines of the league. Since Monday, all players passed a medical test and two Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests 24 hours apart, 72 hours before the start of training.
Nashville SC
Nashville announced on Friday that they had been approved to resume full team training on Monday, June 15.
New England Revolution
The Revs are back in full training in Foxborough, Mass., after getting the go-ahead. It's the club's first full season under head coach/sporting director Bruce Arena, and they unveiled a $35 million facility last December.
New York City FC
NYCFC joined the clubs returning to full-team training on Monday, June 15, but with a twist: They'll be doing so at the Red Bulls' facility in East Hanover, N.J. The reason for that switch is because New York state guidelines still prohibit full-team sessions.
The Cityzens had their plan approved by the club's chief medical officer and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. They trained in the late afternoon, after the Red Bulls' regularly scheduled session in the morning.
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls returned to full-team training June 11 at Red Bull Training Facility in East Hanover, N.J. It came a week after the club started voluntary small group sessions.
Orlando City SC
The Lions returned to full-team training June 15 at the Orlando City SC Training Ground at Osceola Heritage Park. It's an important step for the club ahead of playing the MLS is Back Tournament opener later this July.
Philadelphia Union
The Union started full-team training June 12 in Delaware with the club, and other Philly sports teams, waiting on final approval from the state of Pennsylvania, coach Jim Curtin said in a conference call with reporters.
Portland Timbers
The Timbers have cleared all the necessary hurdles and resumed full training on June 13.
"We've been back for a couple days now, and it's felt great, just being around each other, getting that physical contact, getting the real game feel, it's something that you can't recreate in an individual session," forward Jeremy Ebobisse said in a video released by the club on Saturday.
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake resumed full-team training at Zions Bank Real Academy June 15 in Herriman.
Seattle Sounders
Seattle are back in action at Starfire Sports Complex, hosting their first full-group, full-contact training session at their facility on June 12 after clearing all the necessary medical thresholds from league and local officials.
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting announced that they resumed full team training June 7 at Compass Minerals National Performance Center in Kansas City, Kansas. SKC players returned for May 6 for voluntary individual workouts, and progressed into small group training sessions last week.
Toronto FC
Toronto FC joined the ranks of teams resuming full-team training June 15 after the club's plan was approved, albeit without one of their star players.
Forward Jozy Altidore was originally given permission to remain in his home state of Florida and train when the pandemic first halted MLS regular season play. The Toronto Sun reported he returned to the Toronto area on June 17, but because of Canadian health protocols must train alone for a two-week period and otherwise observe a quarantine before he can rejoin group sessions.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
The Whitecaps cleared another hurdle June 15, returning to full-team training.
