New tech to protect AS Monaco players from coronavirus

In order to prevent its players from getting infected with Covid-19, AS Monaco has developed an app that will safeguard its players on the pitch.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, football season is set to resume this month. On Sunday August 23rd, AS Monaco will face Stade de Reims in the first match of the 2020-2021 season of French Premier League. In order to ensure that its players and staff are protected, as well as to facilitate the eventual return of crowds, Monaco’s football club has created a “secure health passport”.

If this solution can help bring the fans back to the stadiums, it would be a great victory.

Oleg Petrov, ASM’s Vice-President

Results can be accessed via a secure app

So how does it work? After a player is tested, results are sent by email or SMS as a QR code. Through an app developed by Swiss business SICPA, the QR code is then scanned as the player enters the stadium, and his results are displayed. The use of a QR code ensures that results cannot be tampered with, as well as their confidentiality. “The app doesn’t have a hard drive: it receives encrypted data, which is stored in Random Access Memory (RAM) so it can’t be saved,” explained Jérémy Cottino, head of the Project Management Office at the AS Monaco.

Last week, during the friendly match against AZ Alkmaar, the health passport was tested on all the players and staff members of the AS Monaco. The Monegasque club hopes to raise awareness about the system so that other football clubs could join the initiative.