Government U-Turn On The Planned Return Of Football Fans To Stadiums on October 1st
Plans to allow a controlled return of fans into stadiums on October 1st is set to be "paused" as the Government attempts to tackle a surge in Covid-19 cases. In what could be a body blow to so many lower league football clubs and sporting organisations around the country, the fully expected rising trend in infection rates has led the government to backtrack on their previous programme in spite of the appearance of some very successful fan pilots in recent weeks, with no circumstantial evidence to suggest transmission rates have risen in these areas post the pilot schemes. Despite the ability to relatively easily socially distance and large sums of money being spent on the provision of safety for fans in and around the stadia, an increase in positive Covid cases countrywide has led to the programme being paused. Strangely, indoor areas where infection rates are assumed to be much higher; shopping centres, pubs and restaurants where social distancing is at a minimum will remain open with projected 10pm curfews in what will be seen as a misrepresentation of the data by the stadia industry.
A range of new measures will be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson later today. Senior Cabinet Minister Michael Gove told BBC Breakfast earlier this morning that, "It was the case that we were looking at a staged programme of more people returning, it wasn't going to be the case that we were going to have stadiums thronged with fans, we're looking at how we can for the moment pause that programme. But what we do want to do is to make sure is that as and when circumstances allow get more people back. We have to look at sporting events with caution. 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.”
For the lower league clubs who rely so heavily on matchday revenue and ironically who could also welcome socially distanced fans more easily than many of the larger clubs, the latest amendment will be of grave concern.
The leaders of more than 100 sports bodies have written to Boris Johnson requesting emergency funds to stave off a "lost generation of activity". The group warns the future of the sector is "perilous" and urges the Government to provide a "sports recovery fund" in order to help the industry endure the prolonged effects of the pandemic. The letter, written by organisations including the Football Association, Premier League, Rugby Football Union and England and Wales Cricket Board, reportedly states: "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. The impact of this will potentially lead to a lost generation of sport and activity."
There are so many provisions in place now, with sanitisation stations commonplace, temperature checks availability widespread and the track and trace arguably easy to conduct with known fans entering a stadia that the argument for the programme to watch socially distanced sport in such small numbers should still be able to continue remains strong. A continued lack of testing, harbouring a lot of concern, is something the government should potentially be concentrating efforts upon to assist in reducing any further surges in cases and to regain a lot of misplaced confidence from the general public.
