Covid-19 has cost Scottish spectator sport £100m, Scottish government told

Football clubs in tier 1 areas, such as Ross County, are allowed to have 300 fans in attendance

Covid-19 has cost Scottish spectator sport in excess of £100m, with that figure rising daily, the Scottish government has been told.

The figures have been collated by sportscotland, who have been told by several organisations that money is needed now to safeguard jobs and prevent clubs from going under.

Scottish football has said the pandemic has cost it £70m, and could hit £100m.

Rugby and horse racing say they are also losing millions of pounds.

The Scottish government is working on funding similar to the emergency sport package announced last week by Westminster for English sport.

A £300m handout was given to sport south of the border and some clarity should be forthcoming by the end of the week about the situation in Scotland.

Sportscotland have already made £1.5m available for governing bodies and have accelerated payments to help with cashflow issues.

The UK government have also announced plans to allow up to 4000 spectators to attend sporting fixtures in parts of England from early next month.

In Scotland, up to 300 fans are permitted if the event falls within a tier 1 area.

Scottish football's Joint Response Group have asked for urgent talks with the sports minister in a bid to see those spectator numbers increased.