Africa-Press – Mozambique. All sporting events in Wales will be held behind closed doors from December 26 to help control the spread of the Omicron variant, the Welsh government announced on Tuesday.
Economy Minister Vaughan Gething unveiled the new measures for indoor and outdoor events and said a £3 million ($4 million) fund would will be available to support clubs and venues affected by the loss of revenue.
“Throughout the pandemic we have followed scientific and public health advice to keep people safe,” he said in a statement.
“The advice is clear — we need to act now in response to the threat of Omicron. We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can.
“Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports.”
Cardiff’s United Rugby Championship (URC) clash with Scarlets and Wrexham’s National League football fixture against Solihull — both scheduled for December 26 — will be the first affected by the ruling.
The Welsh Grand National at Chepstow will also have to be run behind closed doors despite advance ticket sales of more than 6,000.
The Championship match between Cardiff City, who play in the English Football League (EFL) with some other Welsh clubs, and Coventry has already been postponed due to a Covid outbreak in the Bluebirds’ camp, as has the URC game between the Ospreys and the Dragons.
The first EFL fixture due to be affected is Swansea’s Championship clash with Luton, which is currently scheduled for December 29.
Cardiff said in a statement: “Cardiff City Football Club acknowledges the instruction from the Welsh government for sporting events in Wales to be played behind closed doors for a limited period of time in an effort to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
“Following the postponement of our Boxing Day fixture with Coventry City on Monday, this is set to most immediately impact our FA Cup third-round tie with Preston North End on January 9th.”
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