The Scottish Government is easing restrictions on major events from a position of playing behind closed doors to one where there is no restriction on attendance numbers.

This will impact the Glasgow Derby but also the Guinness Six Nations, relaxing the pressure that the tournament has been under on fans being allowed in the grounds.

In Dublin today the cabinet will meet to discuss a widely trailed easing of restrictions on close contacts and if the lobbying has been done effectively that will hopefully lead to permission for the Aviva Stadium to substantially increase the number of fans allowed into the ground for the opening game of the tournament at home to Wales on Saturday 5th February.

The same two teams meet in the U20 tournament in Musgrave Park in Cork the previous night so the hope is that numbers can be confirmed sooner rather than later.

Our understanding is that the IRFU is planning on the basis of an easing of restrictions with the ability to row back if a limit is retained.

The authorities in England also have no restrictions while Wales Northern Ireland and France range from no fans to a similar maximum of ours of 5,000.

All those restrictions will remain in place for this weekend’s third round of Heineken Champions Cup ties.

A relaxing of numbers would also be welcomed ‘just in time’ by the GAA whose Allianz League Fixtures get underway at the end of this month, and the FAI where the SSE Airtricity League commences in February as well.

There has been no public indication that change is coming but the economic stakes are well known and the hope is that this will see change being implemented.

Sport for Business Perspective

It is 18 months since the original ‘Living with Covid’ plan was published but the harsh reality is that has only just about materialised. It was always to be expected that there would be an impact on the way things used to work but the full stadia of November gave an enormous lift in mood and in the financial sense. People understand risk and are willing in the main to do the right thing by family, friends and fellow citizens. Getting us back together doing what we love is now, in the less damaging phase of this virus, essential.

 

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