Tracking devices can be used to maintain adequate social distancing if supporters are permitted back in stadiums
After a kick in the teeth, a kiss of life? Sports bodies were left blindsided and woozy by the announcement on Tuesday that the return of crowds to stadiums would not only be “paused” but could be delayed until 1 April. Then came a slither of hope with the news that up to eight elite sports are now likely to be helped by a rescue package. The question now is how deep is the government’s pockets – and will the money really be enough?
Make no mistake: this is a crisis so menacing it should come accompanied by the soundtrack to Jaws. How can it not be when the Premier League is warning that football is losing £100m a month? Or when the Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney, a man not prone to hyperbole, says rugby clubs at the heart of communities across England are “in danger of disappearing for ever”. Racing, cricket, golf: they are all saying the same thing. The pips have already been squeezed. Even the plinth is dry.
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