Football Ferns fullback CJ Bott is dealing with COVID-19 in Norway where she plays for Vålerenga
She couldn't be further from home, but Football Ferns defender CJ Bott feels comfortable with her decision to take up her one-year contract with Norwegian club Vålerenga with the country under lockdown due to the coronavirus.
Bott who transferred to the Norwegian club after two seasons in Sweden playing forVittsjö GIK, briefly thought about returning home to Wellington after New Zealand competed at the Algarve Cup in Portugal last month.
"Yeah, I did for a little while just for a couple of days, I guess," Bott told NZME.
"As a professional women's player, the money is not so great so we were a little bit worried in terms of whether our contract would be safe so home was an option.
"But I personally decided I didn't want to travel all that way and risk contracting the virus and passing it on to my family."
Her season was due to start on the 23rd of March but is on hold indefinitely.
"We were one of the first places to go into lockdown so it's just a waiting game at this stage," she said.
"I was on complete lockdown for two weeks after the Algarve Cup in quarantine but since then we are allowed outside but we have to maintain the two-metre distance between everyone like the whole world."
New Zealand's CJ Bott in action against Argentina. Photo / Photosport
A key difference between the lockdown in Norway and New Zealand is the Scandinavian country has allowed footballers to train in groups.
"We have been allowed to train in groups of two at the club but now they've just raised it to groups of five at a distance so it's not too bad and we can still get a little bit done which is quite nice."
Norway says the coronavirus outbreak in the Scandinavian country is under control and has so far recorded nearly 6000 cases and 78 deaths.
"They have relaxed things in Norway and there is not a big upsurge in cases. But it's just the Scandinavian way and they are a lot more relaxed than other places around the world. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing but it's really nice for social reasons but I'm still maintaining my distance and playing it safe."
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In New Zealand there have been concerns raised that sharing sports equipment with people outside your bubble could pass on the virus and Bott admits she hasn't given that a lot of thought but says her club has been very thorough.
"You raise a very good point, but I know our club has been incredibly vigilant in terms of keeping everything clean. They are cleaning all the balls and things like that, so we just have to trust that, and we don't really handle too much of the gear ourselves.
"The stadium has been completely shut off to everyone else so that both the women's and men's teams can train in kind of segregation. So we've got allotted slots throughout the day so we don't come into contact with anyone else around the stadium."
For now, Bott like everyone else is hoping sport can resume sooner rather than later.
"Our contracts are still safe here and we still haven't started our season so we're just under a training program and looking forward to the season so going home wasn't too much of an option. We're stable. A lot of the girls are getting covered by the government. There's a regime that has kicked in in terms of that and that's been beneficial to everyone and our pay hasn't been cut."
When football does resume Bott can't wait to embark on her third Scandinavian season.
"Yeah I really have enjoyed playing up here. It's a great brand of football they play here and suits my style of play. It's a very open and welcoming culture as well which has been a great fit for me, and I've loved every minute of it."
