Switzerland have issued a snake alert to their players and coaching staff at their World Cup base in San Diego. The Swiss Football Association posted a map of the training ground at the San Diego Jewish Academy showing a large zone marked in dark red stripes, labelled “Beware of snakes.”
The post went viral on Instagram.
The San Diego Museum of Natural History records four species of venomous rattlesnake in the region. Switzerland set up camp in Carmel Valley, a suburb of San Diego, to prepare for the heat and humidity they face in the United States.
Players and staff received instructions on how to behave if they encounter a snake, along with a map marking the danger area around the training pitch.
The squad already adjusts to warm temperatures ahead of their Group B opener against Qatar at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Saturday. Kick-off is at 3pm ET, which falls at 2am Bangladesh time on Sunday 14 June.
The Swiss Football Association’s training map also identified a goalkeepers’ area at the back of the pitch, a gym under a marquee, and changing rooms directly behind it. The snake zone covered a much larger area surrounding the full facility.
