Article by Ben Burrows for The Independent - published 23 November 2020
Outdoor grassroots sport will return when national lockdown measures are lifted next month.
Prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed the move in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday where he outlined the next phase of restrictions.
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 was also confirmed by the prime minister.
4,000 supporters will be allowed into venues in Tier 1 areas with 2,000 fans permitted in Tier 2 areas.
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."