Omicron: Festive Welsh sport limited to 50 spectators to combat Covid-19
- Published
The 2020 Welsh Grand National was postponed until January 2021 and was run at an empty Chepstow Racecourse
Festive sport in Wales will be limited to 50 spectators as the Welsh government continues its fight against Covid-19's Omicron variant.
The restrictions affecting all levels of sport in Wales start on 26 December, with no end date officially set.
Wednesday's update means in practical terms that professional Welsh sport will be played behind closed doors.
Cardiff v Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship (URC) on that day will be the first major fixture affected.
Stewarding and policing costs mean that it is impractical for elite clubs to allow a handful of fans into stadia when they need thousands of people through the turnstiles to make the figures work.
Welsh economy minister Vaughan Gething said a £3m fund will be in place to "support" clubs and venues.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "We are facing a very serious situation in Wales. A wave of infections caused by the new, fast-moving and very infectious Omicron variant is headed our way.
"This new form of coronavirus could infect large numbers of people in Wales, disrupting daily lives and businesses and could cause an increase in the number of people who need hospital care in the coming weeks.
"We will do everything we can to protect people's health and livelihoods in Wales - this means taking early action to try and control its spread.
"We are changing the rules for businesses and some public spaces, where lots of different people mix daily and issuing strong and clear advice to help people stay safe in their own private homes and when meeting others.
"There will be an exception for team sports, up to 50 spectators will be able to gather, in addition to those taking part. There is also an exception for events involving children.
Drakeford outlined why people could watch matches in pubs but not attend matches at stadiums.
"I think those rugby and football clubs have worked very hard to keep things safe during the Delta [variant] period," said Drakeford.
"But we are concerned not with how people behave when they are at the ground but all the traditional pinch points. How they travel and come and go to them and act in hospitality around them. There are risks there that we do not need to run.
"Yes, you will be able to be in a pub with the new protections in place and watch a game on television but you won't be there with 21,000 people sharing the space with you and trying to get in and out of the ground at the same time.
"The circumstances are not comparable in that way and that's why we treated them differently with the regulations I have announced today."
Monday's announcement had insisted all matches would have to be played behind closed doors, defining a sporting event as 'all indoor and outdoor sporting events, whether ticketed or not, with spectators including larger sporting events and those at every level, including community sporting events, which attract significantly smaller crowds".
Wednesday's updated Welsh government advice will allow small numbers of spectators to attend grass-roots, community and youth team sports - as long as the two-metre social distancing guidelines are followed.
"A lot of people will be pleased with today's announcement they will be allowed to watch children's and grassroots sport after Christmas," said Sport Wales acting chief executive Brian Davies.
"Organised sport plays such a valuable role in children's lives, so for them to continue having that support network from the side of a pitch, track or court is important.
"All grassroots clubs are advised to check with their national governing bodies to see how any changing restrictions over the coming weeks affect their respective sports.
"We want to keep Wales safe and I know the Welsh sporting community will do everything required to make sure that sporting activities remain safe."
No 'predictions' for Six Nations
Drakeford said he was unable to give any guarantees that restrictions would be lifted by the time the Six Nations international rugby tournament starts in February.
Wales are away to Ireland on 5 February on the opening weekend, but are set to host Scotland on 12 February at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
"I can't give you a prediction of what will happen in six weeks from now," Drakeford said.
"When I set out my original statement, I tried to demonstrate just how many things had changed in the last few days.
"We have the best modelling and our colleagues in the universities can offer us and it suggests January will be the peak of the Omicron virus and things may reduce relatively rapidly once the peak has been passed.
"We will continue to work with the Welsh Rugby Union and other football and sporting bodies.
"We have announced £3m already to help with the income they will have lost in the post-Christmas period, and we will go with those conversations with them should the public health situation not allow games to resume in the way we would all like to see by that part of the new year."
Contingency fund is 'sufficient'
Drakeford insists the £3m contingency fund was sufficient.
"It is designed to cover major events," said Drakeford.
"We took the precaution of having collected information from the clubs involved in advance of making a decision of what the loss of income would be if they had to play behind closed doors.
"I can assure people £3m is not a drop in anybody's ocean and we are confident it is sufficient to be able to compensate those clubs for the way they are able to operate, not indefinitely of course.
"None of us know how long this will need to go on and we will keep this sum of money regularly under review.
"If the restrictions have to go beyond that at which the £3m will be sufficient then the conversations between the finance minister and the minister responsible for that sector will recommence."
Christmas programme affected
In football, Cardiff City v Coventry on Boxing Day has already been called off due to Covid cases, as has Ospreys v Dragons in the URC.
However, Cardiff's Welsh rivals Swansea City go to Millwall on 26 December with the UK government not having placed any restrictions on crowds at venues in England.
Newport County v Forest Green Rovers in League Two is, like Cardiff City's Championship game, off because of Covid, but Wrexham are set to entertain Solihull Moors in the National League.
Cardiff's next home game is against face Preston North End on Sunday, 9 January in the FA Cup with the Bluebirds saying that will also be behind closed doors.
In the meantime, Swansea will miss out on gate receipts against Luton Town and Fulham before Premier League Southampton visit them in the FA Cup on 8 January.
There were 12 games in the Cymru Premier over the festive period that have now been postponed because of the Welsh Government's decision to play matches behind closed doors.
Rugby's New Year's Day games - Dragons v Cardiff and Scarlets v Ospreys - will also lack the traditional raucous backdrop generated by rivalries among fans.
The post Christmas programme in the Welsh Premiership on 26 and 27 December has also been called off.
Horse racing's Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on 27 December will also be held without spectators.
Cardiff Devils ice hockey team have two home games during the festive period that must be played without fans - although Wednesday evening's home game with Manchester Storm is a near sell-out, and the 3,000 plus expected to attend will be the last professional game in Wales played before the return to restrictions.
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