Spain’s players and coaches were given COVID-19 vaccinations yesterday in the morning, three days before their Euro 2020 Group E opener against Sweden in Seville.
The army arrived at the national team’s headquarters in Las Rozas, Madrid, to administer different vaccines “depending on the situation of each member.”
The Spanish Football Association (RFEF) opted for those members that have not had COVID-19 to be given the single dose of the vaccine to avoid needing a second jab during the competition.
“I don’t want any adverse effects of the vaccine to affect the players during the tournament.
“We would have liked to have been vaccinated at the right time, which was after the squad list was announced [on June 1],” Spain coach Luis Enrique said earlier this week.
Team captain Sergio Busquets’ positive test on June 6, followed days later by that of Leeds defender Diego Llorente, disrupted the team’s preparations and brought a sense of urgency to have the players vaccinated ahead of Euro 2020.
Llorente has since had three PCR negative tests and needs one more negative result to re-join the national team on Friday.
The RFEF said in a statement it was “grateful and thankful” to the Spanish authorities for “their sensibility” when giving the approval.
The vaccination of the players has been a source of controversy for weeks.
Only 25% of Spain’s population has been fully vaccinated, with no date scheduled for when those under 40 will be vaccinated.
The Spanish government ultimately authorised priority vaccinations for the footballers on Thursday.