The head of world athletics Seb Coe in a statement said on Friday that ‘Healthy Athletes should take their place in the COVID-19 vaccine queue behind people with more pressing needs despite events such as next year’s Olympics looking set to be highly dependent on competitors arriving free from the virus’.

He adds, the majority of athletes in their 20 – 30 ages, across all sports, would be just about last in line in most countries when it comes to handing out the vaccine but the pressure to create a COVID-safe environment at sporting events has raised the question of whether they should be treated as a special case.

Coe trod a careful line when asked about the issue at a media conference on Friday. "We have to be sensitive here - there are many claims on that priority. Most of us are dependent on our frontline workers and our emergency services and we also recognize that there are vulnerable people in the community and we want to make sure that we look after them as much as possible.

Defending champions Seattle Sounders head into the MLS Cup on Saturday against hosts Columbus Crew seeking a third title in five years to rubber-stamp their status as the current dominant force in the North American league. Led by Uruguayan midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro and American forward Jordan Morris, who were finalists for the MVP award this year, Seattle are looking to join D.C. United, Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy as the only MLS teams to win back-to-back titles.

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