Fan Return Shelved As Sport Appeals For Aid
Plans for the return of fans to live sport events from October will now not go ahead, as Michael Gove confirms stricter lockdown measures across the UK.
The UK’s Covid-19 alert level has increased to 4 in recent days, and the original fan return plans were placed under review in early September, but have now been fully postponed.
The announcement comes on the same day that over 100 different UK governing bodies wrote to Government appealing for further financial aid to survive the Covid crisis, warning of a ‘lost generation of activity’. Sport England has already handed out £200m for emergency cases.
The letter read: “Together, we require a comprehensive support package for the sport and physical sector to aid its recovery.
“This package must combine investment, tax incentives, and regulatory reform. Covid-19 has undermined our commercial revenue streams with both stadiums and leisure facilities closed or greatly reduced in capacity and the impact of this will potentially lead to a lost generation of sport and activity.
“We are particularly concerned about the impact on those whose participation has been limited during the pandemic. Physical activity levels, especially in the most vulnerable groups, are significantly below where they were tracking pre-Covid-19.”
The postponement of the planned return of fans will have a further impact on all sport governing bodies, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson set to announce additional restrictions soon.
