Covid 19 - Wales: Sport to continue but no spectators
2021
The Welsh First Minister has issued a further restriction to come into play between Christmas and the New Year. From the 26th December spectators will be banned from all sporting events in Wales.
There is no distinction as to the size of the event or if it is inside or outside, professional or amateur.
The sweeping nature of the announcement has raised concerns as it is not time limited, simply stating the new sports restrictions would be "reviewed regularly".
The Welsh government said restrictions would be reviewed regularly, adding: "Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports."
On these new restrictions, Mr Vaughan Gething (Economy Minister) said:
"Sporting events over the Christmas period are one of the big highlights of the year. Unfortunately, the new Omicron variant is a significant development in the pandemic and could cause a large number of infections. “
"We need to do everything we can to protect people's health and control the spread of this awful virus.”
"Throughout the pandemic we have followed scientific and public health advice to keep people safe. The advice is clear - we need to act now in response to the threat of Omicron. We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can.”
"Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports."
Key events, which will suffer the greatest impact include the Cardiff versus Scarlets rugby match at Cardiff Arms Park on 26 December, and the Welsh Grand National in Chepstow the following day.
Mr Gething said a £3m Spectator Sports Fund will be available to support clubs and venues but as is often the case the smaller community clubs who will suffer significantly, will not have the resources to access such funding.