Coronavirus: Difficult for amateur sport to return this summer says Dominic Raab
- Published
Sport at all levels is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people in the UK
It will be "difficult" for amateur sport to return this summer due to the "level and scale of interaction", says Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to the suspension of sport at all levels in the UK.
But Raab said professional sport may be able to return "because of the scale of testing" that could be introduced.
The BBC reported on Saturday how the government has plans for a series of meetings to help elite sport resume.
The move was described by a source close to the plans as a "quickening of the pace" and intended to help sport resume "within weeks", if progress was made.
However, a return to action still depends on the government's five tests being met, especially an increase in testing, and meeting social distancing guidelines.
More than 20,000 people in the UK have died with coronavirus.
When asked on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show if there was any chance of smaller sporting clubs being able to play sport outside this summer, Raab said: "Very difficult because of the level and scale of interaction.
"I think the professional sport may be different because of the scale of testing that they would be able to introduce.
"We do want to look when it is safe and responsible at ways to allow more outdoors activities to take place, but again we have to have the evidence that it is a sure-footed step that does not allow coronavirus to get a grip back on the country."