Coronavirus: US women’s football team stuck in Honduras after virus causes country to shutdown

‘Financially, we weren’t expecting to be here ... it will be at least until next Monday,’ says team’s linebackers’ coach

As the sports world began to go dark in response to the coronavirus outbreak last Wednesday, more than 40 women from 23 different states did not hesitate to leave their country to play the sport that they love.

The American Football Events USA All-Star team had prepared for more than a year to visit Honduras and play in the inaugural Americas Women’s Bowl – and after determining that there had been a limited number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in that country, they arrived in the capital city of Tegucigalpa without the anxiety that was enveloping athletes in the United States and beyond.

But by Sunday, after three victories in two days had ensured a place in the championship game, the final was cancelled as the country was locked down. The government sent workers home, called off flights and shuttered public transportation for at least seven days in efforts to contain the virus. The AFE USA All-Star Team was supposed to fly back home Monday.

Now, the group of 57 Americans – players, coaches, personnel staff and family members – are stuck at a Clarion Hotel and are unsure when they might be able to return home.

“We’re pretty positive and making do with what we have. Financially, we weren’t expecting to be here ... it will be at least until [next] Monday,” said Stephanie Balochko, the team’s linebackers’ coach. “We’re safe, we’re happy. We’re just stuck.”

The team found out with little notice and through their phones on Sunday night – some via news alerts, others by abrupt flight cancellations – but it was equally jarring. While the hotel has made accommodations and given the team a discount on lodging over the next week, some players are scrambling to raise donations to afford the prolonged stay.

Donations have trickled in, Ms Balochko said in an interview Tuesday, and the team has been aided by food provided by the Honduran national team and by bottled water purchased at the hotel.

There was little worry about the team travelling last Wednesday when much of the sports world was just realising the full extent of the coronavirus spread.

“We weren’t worried about getting out of here. That never even crossed our minds. We knew, coming from here, we would probably get quarantined. Everybody kind of just dealt with that,” said Ms Balochko, who has spent time as an intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Monitoring it, we just kind of kept in touch with our families.”

Police officers check drivers’ documents at a checkpoint after Honduras’ government imposed a nationwide curfew to contain the spread of the virus (Reuters)

The players that make up the AFE USA All-Star team hail from local leagues across the country and sign up months in advance to travel and play with the organisation, which also plans to play in an event in Spain later this year. The camaraderie built among the players, many of whom don’t know one another, is what attracts so many to sign up.

It’s also an opportunity for American players to spread their passion for the game with other players in countries where football is not as prevalent. Some players passed along encouragement and equipment to their opponents from Central America after their games.

“I actually gave my girdle ... and my protective shirts that I wear, I gave to one of those Honduran players right after the game. I apologised that they were very stinky,” said Alicia Aguirre, a 31-year-old linebacker from Las Cruces, New Mexico. “She said, ‘That’s perfectly fine. This will help me.’”

Last week, as the team watched from afar as normal life in the United States was upended, it practised Thursday and visited an American-hosted school that teaches Hondurans English and other subjects. The AFE USA All-Stars won three games in two days, setting up a championship game against Mexico that was supposed to be played on Sunday. But that game was cancelled as a precautionary measure and was followed by the nationwide shutdown.

“Everything is fluid ... we know we’re here until Monday, unless the two governments can work something out to get us out of there,” Balochko said.

After the players endured the initial shock of being stuck for at least another week, they went to work filling their time the best they could. They come from all different backgrounds and occupations – Ms Balochko is a firefighter and paramedic in the Akron, Ohio area, and Ms Aguirre is working on her master’s degree.

The roster includes active military members, police officers, nurses and fitness trainers, some of whom have set up a makeshift workout class for players to run through at the hotel. There will be movie nights and board games to play, and coaches are organising film study to teach their players more about the game before they all go their separate ways – whenever that might be. A silver lining for Ms Aguirre has been spending time with new teammates who have become like “a second family.”

“The other silver lining is, having the ability to kind of be in a football mentality. We got to play three games this week,” she said. “We don’t know the next time we’re going to be able to play football.”

The Washington Post