It’s time to kick off the football season in Michigan.

The fall football season was reinstated by the Michigan High School Athletic Association on Thursday, after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 176 lifted restrictions.

Other fall sports that can begin are volleyball, boys soccer and girls swimming.

Padded practices in football can begin on Tuesday, with the first games taking place Sept. 18.

Boys soccer matches can begin immediately, girls swimming can begin on Monday and volleyball matches can start on Wednesday.

In a press release announcing the lifting of Whitmer’s Executive Order and the reopening of gyms and pools in Michigan, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive and MDHHS Chief Deputy for Health, warned against athletes playing contact sports.

“Individuals can now choose whether or not to play organized sports, and if they do choose to play, this order requires strict safety measures to reduce risk,” Khaldun said. “However, we know of 30 reported outbreaks involving athletic teams and facilities in August. Based on current data, contact sports create a high risk of COVID-19 transmission and MDHHS strongly recommends against participating in them at this time. We are not out of the woods yet. COVID-19 is still a very real threat to our families.” 

Come back to detroitnews.com for more on this developing story.