NEW YORK – Major League Soccer Thursday extended the small group and team training moratorium through and including Monday, June 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MLS players may continue to use outdoor team training fields for voluntary individual workouts, in compliance with local health authorities and government orders, which were created in consultation with medical and infectious disease experts.

MLS training facilities remain closed to all players with the exception of those requiring medical treatment or rehabilitation, under the direction of the team medical staff, that cannot be performed from the safety of their residences.

While MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market, MLS will continue to review individual requests by players to relocate to another market by car, taking into account the totality of a player’s situation.

MLS and its teams will continue to remain in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Public Health Agency of Canada and local health authorities on this evolving situation and provide further updates as they become available.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.