English sports enthusiasts can rest assured.

Professional competitions, especially football, will not be suspended during the new confinement decreed by Boris Johnson and which begins Tuesday, January 5. 

The list of exceptions published by the British government allows elite athletes to train and compete.

No planned interruption of the Premier League season

Before these new government announcements, the English Football League had assured that it had "no plans" to interrupt the Premier League season, requested by some players after new matches postponed due to cases of Covid-19 within clubs.

The new confinement, as strict as that put in place in the spring, provides for the closure of schools and must last if conditions allow, until mid-February, he announced in a televised address.

Also in Scotland, where Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced full confinement for all of January, professional sport will be able to continue, having been placed on the list of exceptions.

For their part, the organizers of the Six Nations Rugby Tournament said, ahead of the government announcements, that they expected the competition "to go as planned" from February 6 to March 20, while specifying to monitor the situation with the Federations, governments and health authorities of the countries concerned.

The British and Irish Lions, for their part, said this weekend that they would make a decision in February on whether or not to continue the tour planned to South Africa in July-August.

With AFP

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