Wooooooooooo! Our football is back to normal

Well, owl be damned!

Welsh Government’s answer to Victor Meldrew has given us our football back!

Of course there should have been no stoppage in the action in the first place. Allowing indoor gatherings to outnumber outdoor ones when outdoor ones are far safer in the battle against the pandemic will remain part of the Buffoonery Bible for some time.

The Second Minister (he goes by the title First but he’s slow as a tortoise) has today flown off his perch and announced that restrictions on spectators at sporting events in Wales are to be lifted.

That means no more (what figure shall we pluck out of thin air? I know, let’s go for 50) crowd reductions that were making many matches unfeasible.

The number of people who can attend football matches across Wales will rise from 50 to 500 as and from tomorrow (15 January), with full capacity crowds being allowed from Friday, 21 January as the country continues its return to Alert Level 0.

That weekend (January 21 and 22) tier 1 Cymru Premier football and second tier Cymru North and South return.

The Football Association of Wales has welcomed the news.

An FAW statement said today: “Ahead of the 2021/22 season, the FAW factored in COVID-19 related disruptions into its planning with some leagues starting their seasons earlier than normal to counteract such an impact.

“In December, the FAW’s National League Board took the decision to suspend the Cymru Leagues, Adran Leagues and Ardal Leagues over the festive period due to the restrictions placed upon spectator numbers as a result of the omicron variant of COVID-19. This decision was taken to limit the loss of income for clubs and to provide the best chance for fans not to miss out on supporting their teams.

“Today’s news is therefore pleasing, as fans can now return to supporting domestic football across the country having not missed out on any of the action.”