Elite professional sport will be allowed to continue in England, although Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new national lockdown.
Starting Tuesday, everyone in the country will have to stay at home after a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, mainly caused by a new variant of the virus.
The latest lockdown – the third since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – is expected to last for at least six weeks, by which time the government hopes to have given the first dose of a vaccine to the most vulnerable.
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The shutdown had raised fears that professional sport would be postponed as it was last year, but it will not. Premier League, EFL, SPFL and WSL actions will continue as normal, with testing protocols in place for the duration of the 2020/21 season continuing.
With very little to look forward to over the next few months, the respite of being able to enjoy and watch professional sport will be appreciated by many. There are, however, obvious concerns in the game amid a significant increase in cases among clubs across the country.
Recently, Newcastle were forced to close their training ground amid a COVID-19 outbreak at the club, as championship duo Sheffield Wednesday and Derby have followed suit in recent days after a series of tests positive.
Matches have also been postponed in the Premier League recently, with Fulham’s scheduled games against Tottenham and Burnley both being called off at short notice. Manchester City, meanwhile, have felt the pinch with a number of players testing positive including Kyle Walker, Gabriel Jesus and Ederson. They also had a game against Everton postponed.
There have also been inevitable and downright ludicrous violations of the restrictions by a number of high profile actors, many of whom have been pictured flouting previous government rules over the Christmas and New Years period. Year.
The same mistakes are unlikely to happen again as the country prepares to be locked in for the foreseeable future.
