Plans to get fans to return to live sporting events in October has been temporarily paused. According to BBC Sport, the on-going pandemic’s recent-rise means that fans will not be let back into stadiums as planned.
The notion of letting fans return to sporting events was placed under review earlier this month. However, the UK’s Covid-19 alert level has moved to 4, meaning transmission is ‘high or rising exponentially’, therefore leaving the government with no choice but to scrap such plans.
Plans for Returning Fans to Live Sporting Events Temporarily Scrapped
Ever-Shifting Government Guidelines Impacting Live Sporting Events
In the uncertain times the country and much of the world finds itself in at the moment, nothing is set in stone. All plans have to be provisional because the threat posed by Covid-19 is extremely difficult to monitor.
Initially, there was going to be a staged return to live sporting events. But, speaking to BBC Breakfast, Michael Gove confirmed that this proposal had been temporarily paused and delayed.
“We were looking at a staged programme that allowed fans to return – it wasn’t going to be the case that we were going to have stadiums thronged with fans,” he said.
“The virus is less likely to spread outdoors than indoors but again it’s in the nature of major sporting events that there’s a lot of mingling”.
Football and other Major Sports Catalyst to the First Wave
Since March, football, as well as the majority of live sporting events, have been played behind closed doors. Although, nine clubs trialled having 1000 fans back in their stadiums last Saturday, as part of a pilot event.
With those plans imminently scrapped, the government are reacting promptly for a reason. Major sporting events in March, including Liverpool’s Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid and Cheltenham Festival have come under scrutiny. Many believed that these events should not have been allowed to go ahead.
Additionally, Liverpool’s match with Atletico Madrid was investigated by the city’s council. Liverpool City Council were examining whether the data could give any indication of the impact the fixture had on the spread of Coronavirus.
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