AS we continue to make good progress in our quest to ensure the number of positive Covid cases keep going down, we in Scotland can perhaps start thinking of being able to attend sporting events again in the not-too-distant future.
For many other countries, this is still not the case and their sporting future looks to be a while away just yet. In fact, North Korea has taken the decision already not to send a team to the Tokyo Olympics amid concerns for the athletes’ safety.
We are also hearing that some events in Japan, which were due to be part of the preparations towards the Olympics – scheduled to begin on July 23 – have been cancelled after new Covid infections broke out.
One was at a training camp for the Japanese water polo team, with seven people testing positive for the virus. This followed on from the cancellation of the Osaka leg of the Olympic torch relay, which is normally a huge part of the build-up to the Games.
At home there is a glimmer of hope for female athletes, with netball, football and curling among some of the sports that have recommenced.
For some, this may cause anxiety as most of them will not yet have been vaccinated, and not all of them may want to take up the opportunity.
In the tennis world this is a big talking point, as some of the world’s top players have clearly said they will not get vaccinated. As you can imagine, this has triggered a major debate within the sport.
With so many variables in the mix before international events really start to kick off, I wonder when we will be able to say with any certainty that we can book our tickets, arrange our flights and go and support our athletes abroad.
I wouldn’t like to take bets on that one!
However, for football fans there was some good news as Uefa has agreed to the Scottish FA proposal to allow 12,500 fans into Hampden in the summer to support Scotland at the delayed Euro 2020.
I can’t begin to think how awful it would have been to have our men’s national team, who have waited so long to be back on this stage, play without the Tartan Army behind them. Well done to all involved in getting this off the ground.
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