Calls for the Full Reopening of Stadiums for United Rugby Championship and Currie Cup Grow as Finances Are Hit

• The rugby fraternity has started speaking out, imploring upon relevant authorities to fully reopen stadiums across the country
• This comes with news that South African sports organisations are feeling the financial pinch of locking out spectators because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic
• Currently, only a maximum of 2 000 spectators are allowed into rugby matches, while 1 500 were let in to watch the recent CSA T20 Challenge in Gqeberha

The rugby fraternity has joined in on calls to lift restrictions on fan attendance in the ongoing United Rugby Championship and Currie Cup competitions.

This was on the back of a recent demonstration held by the Economic Freedom Fighters for stakeholders to reopen stadiums for football competitions. Rugby and cricket matches can only be attended by a maximum of 2 000 and 1 500 spectators respectively.

Writing on Supersport.com, respected rugby journalist Brendan Nel added his voice to the list of people who wish for the public to enjoy live matches again.

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Nel wrote:

"Currently, teams are hamstrung with 2 000 fans maximum in any stadium, while across the world stadiums have opened and vaccinated fans are flocking back to sporting events. But here in South Africa, only allowing a couple of thousand fans into stadiums has meant that any game is loss-generating for franchises across the country.

"Administrators have privately spoken of the need to be able to allow 10 000 fans into a stadium to break even on costs, and given the magnificent open-air stadiums we have in this country, a 50% capacity is workable and now necessary on a number of accounts. Ellis Park Stadium CEO Pieter Burger is one who has warned that if rugby fans can’t return to stadiums, at least two of the franchises - perhaps three - may well be in administration by the end of the year."

According to the article, rugby franchises have lost around R240-million in combined revenue over the past two years because of restrictions of the pandemic.

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It does appear that there could be an end in sight, however. The HSBC Rugby World Cup 7s tournament will take place at the beginning of September later this year in Cape Town.

With tickets going on sale starting this past Monday, GoodThingsGuy reported that over 60 000 had already been sold for the three-day event.

Citizen questions government logic of allowing pupils in packed classrooms but not allowing fans into stadiums

A social media user asked a pertinent question about the inconsistent applications lockdown regulations in publication spaces.

As reported on Sports Brief, Lesley Makhaya de Vos (@lezdevos) tweeted how some classrooms across the country are packed beyond capacity with vaccinated and unvaccinated learners, while other public and well ventilated venues like stadiums are either still closed to spectators or very few spectators are allowed in.

The tweet caused something of a stir among respondents.