Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has announced that the return of fans to stadiums on October 1, has been called off. While speaking in an interview, Gove said plans for a staged return of fans, has been put on hold after the UK’s COVID-19 alert level raised exponentially.
He further said Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out new measures on Tuesday. Sports in England deemed high-risk sports have been staged behind closed doors since the global pandemic in March, including Formula One, Cricket, and Football.
In a statement, Chairperson of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport DCMS select committee, Julian Knight said the country risks decimation of its sporting and cultural infrastructure, if a route map is not found with smart solutions to allow sports and live events to reopen.
As a result of this effect, sports bodies have written to Boris Johnson seeking emergency funding, warning a loss of revenue as a result of the pandemic. Although Sport England launched a 200 million pounds for emergency cases, more is still needed.
Before the start of the 2020/2021 season, Richard Masters Premier League chief executive said it was critical fans returned to the stadiums or risk losing more than 700 million pounds during the 2020-21 season.
Ralph Rimmer, Rugby Football League chief executive, also added that delaying the return of crowds will cost clubs up to 2 million pounds each week
