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Negative COVID-19 Test Required For Live English Sport

Written by MOS Editorial Team

Published on 10 December 2021

The UK government has announced people attending live sporting events in England will be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, as part of the new restrictions coming in place to tackle the Omicron variant.

Sports fans that have received at least two vaccine doses can present a COVID pass that will also be accepted.

The restrictions come after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of the ‘plan B’ framework, designed to counter the growing COVID-19 cases and Omicron present in the UK.

Johnson said: “The measures referring to sports events will take effect from a week’s time which means the weekend’s fixtures, notably in football and rugby union, will be unaffected.”

“There will be some exceptions for smaller events too, but the rule will apply to outdoor seated events with a capacity of more than 10,000 people and outdoor standing events that can hold more than 4,000 people, as well as indoor events with capacities greater than 500.

“We will make the NHS COVID pass mandatory for entrance into… spaces where large crowds gather.

“Having taken clinical advice since the arrival of Omicron, a negative lateral flow will also be sufficient,” Johnson said.

Masks will not be mandatory for outdoor events such as sporting matches, regardless of crowd size.