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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Ben Burrows

Ban on outdoor grassroots sport to be lifted when lockdown ends

Photograph: Getty Images

Outdoor grassroots sport is expected to return when national lockdown measures are lifted next month.

Prime minister Boris Johnson is set to make a statement to the House of Commons on Monday where the next phase of restrictions will be outlined.

It is expected that grassroots sport, that has been banned since 5 November under the current guidelines, will be able to restart from 2 December.

Golf courses, tennis courts and other recreational sports venues are set to be allowed to open.

Elite sport has continued behind closed doors throughout the current lockdown but a move to allow fans to return to stadiums in limited numbers could also be confirmed by the prime minister imminently.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has maintained that getting grassroots back was always a priority.

"I'm desperate for it to come back," he said last week.

"I am pretty hopeful and confident as we go back into the tier system. It's top of the list for us to get it back from 2 December. I know how valuable it is.

"We have to go through a proper process of evaluating the evidence; we have to wait until the final decisions are made."

A £300million ‘winter survival package’ for elite sport was confirmed by the government last week with rugby union and racing some of the chief beneficiaries but non-elite sport was not included.

MP Damian Collins believes grassroots sport must be able to return for benefit of young people and children in particular.

"The big difference between the lockdown we're going to have in the next few weeks and the one we had in the spring and summer is that the schools are going to be allowed to stay open," he told Sky Sports News.

"That's absolutely right, because it's important for children's wellbeing, as well as their education, that they're back in school. But if we recognise that children are better off in school, even with Covid, then I think we should recognise that they're better off doing grassroots sports than they are being stuck at home.

"We know the rate of infection in outdoor settings is lower than indoor ones, and the danger to children's health is much lower from coronavirus.

"Being allowed to take part in grassroots sports will be much better for the mental and physical health of young people."

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